Down the Rabbit Hole
by Windrunner106
Summary: Alysyn McArthur has never been understood. That is until she fell down the rabbit hole and into the arms of Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter. Mad Hatter/OC. Rated for mild language, violence, and mature innuendos. COMPLETE!
1. A Pool of Tears

**Note to the readers:** Just wanted to let everyone know a couple of things before you begin reading. First, this is a complete rework of two stories I used have on this site, "Chess Pieces" and "Through Arkham's Looking-Glass". I decided to scrap those stories simply because I was not proud of them. I could have done better, and that is what I'm attempting to do here. Second, my original character has had a makeover. She still has, ah…certain abilities, but her background and how she turned criminal is completely different, as is how she and a certain canon character's relationship develop.

Finally, I want to say that the Mad Hatter you will read about in this story has the appearance of the Hatter from _The Batman & Robin Adventures_ comic, which was a spinoff of the Animated Series. That one looks like the Animated Series Jervis Tetch, but instead of blonde hair and blue attire; he has _red_ hair and _green_ attire. I'm also writing him with a bit of a darker personality.

I hope you all have an open mind when reading this. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except Alysyn McArthur. Please, if you like her and would like to use her in your own stories, ask me first!

* * *

"_Gotham City is seeing a lot of sunshine and warm weather today as a warm front has come in from the south. Expect temperatures in the mid-eighties, with humidity levels around sixty percent. Tonight, temperatures won't drop too much, staying in the low to mid-seventies."_

"_Thank you, Jerry. When we come back, we'll tell you the story of a Congregationalist community located in western Pennsylvania that persecuted a husband and wife for being Pagan."_

The sound of glass shattering on a tiled floor resounded throughout the small apartment as a woman in her mid-twenties came rushing into the living room. Alysyn McArthur had been preparing lunch for herself while listening to the news. When she heard the part about the Congregationalist community in western Pennsylvania, her nerves immediately failed, causing her to drop the glass she'd been pouring a drink into.

"No, no, no! Please, don't let it be them. Please…" she whispered frantically to herself, shakily taking a seat in the Lazy-Boy armchair that was situated in front of the television.

There was grape juice splattered all over her tiled kitchen floor, but she didn't care. Her parents lived in western Pennsylvania…in a Congregationalist community. The people there never particularly liked Alysyn and her family, as they practiced an ancient art that to them was considered sacrilegious.

A few moments later, the news came back on and she leaned forward in her chair, putting her hands over her mouth as she watched and listened in trepidation.

"_Welcome back to GNN. Today, at eight-thirty this morning, police in western Pennsylvania found the bodies of William and Katherine McArthur burned at the stake in their own front yard."_

Gotham National News showed the picture of a Victorian-style house, painted a nice shade of green with white trim. The neatly manicured front lawn was busy with assorted camera crews, newscasters, and police. The camera from GNN zoomed in on the charred stakes that Alysyn's parents had been murdered on. Alysyn, her breath coming in short, fast hitches, felt as though she were in a dream.

"This can't be happening! It can't!"

"_This Congregationalist community consists of highly religious people, and according to the investigators, Mr. and Mrs. McArthur dabbled in the occult. There have been no records or evidence to suggest that the couple hurt anyone in the community, but police did say that there had been a lot of tension between them and the community since the family had moved in. When asked if the couple did, in fact, study the occult, investigators said they hadn't found anything pertaining to the subject. Mr. and Mrs. McArthur left only one family member behind: their daughter, Alysyn McArthur, who is currently living right here in Gotham City. Investigators are currently trying to figure out who in the community murdered the couple. We'll keep you up to date when new reports reach us."_

"_Thank you, Caroline," _said Patrick, the middle-aged newscaster for GNN._ "This is a sad story. It goes to show you how deep some religious prejudices can go. Our sincere condolences go out to their daughter. Next up—"_

The newscaster was cut off when a blast of red energy destroyed the television. Alsysn was now standing in front of the armchair, right hand held out. A dim red glow surrounded her hand, and a look of sheer rage shone in her green eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she was breathing heavily, trying to control herself.

"Those bastards!" she screamed. "Why couldn't they just leave my parents alone?! They gave up their ways so they could live in peace, yet those…those _fanatics_ still persecuted them! I _hate_ society!"

Alysyn's family had indeed been involved in the occult at one time. Her parents had taught her since she was very young the ways of magic and the supernatural. When they had moved to the community in western Pennsylvania, things slowly began to change. At first, she and her parents didn't realize how religious the community was until neighbors started knocking at their door wanting them to join their church. When her parents didn't comply after several of the community's attempts, that's when things began to escalate. The old neighbors would spy on her family, and once, someone had caught her mother shaking out an altar cloth with a pentagram on it. They had tried to be discreet about their practices. They never hurt anyone, yet those Congregationalists constantly tormented them, calling them "the Devil's breed".

As Alysyn paced around her living room, a knock came at the door. At first, she didn't want to answer it, fearing that she may snap at whoever was on the other side. When she heard the voice that came through the door, she decided otherwise.

"Alyce? It's me, Theresa. Are you all right?"

Taking several slow, deep breaths, Alysyn, or Alyce, as some of her friends liked to call her, approached the door to her apartment and opened it. A woman around her age with jet-black hair and brown eyes stood on the other side, concern written all over her face.

"I…I just saw the news, and I…I heard screaming. I'm…I'm so sorry, Alyce!"

Alyce stared blankly at her friendly neighbor for a few moments, trying to make sense of the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that were currently coursing through her. Salty tears continued to flow steadily down her cheeks, but she made no move to wipe them away. Her parents, her _family_, had been crudely taken from her, and she was losing it.

"Alyce? Please…say something. I understand how you must feel right now. Like you, I moved to Gotham to get away from the community I lived in," Theresa said, trying to console her good acquaintance.

Alyce had moved to Gotham when she was eighteen to get away from the community that had just executed her parents. That was eight years ago. She had asked her parents to move with her, but they refused, stating that they had grown comfortable with the house. They had even given up their magical practices in the hopes that the community would accept them. Obviously, their attempts to fit in had failed. Alyce, on the other hand, continued to practice magic, and found that Gotham harbored many more open-minded people than she was previously used to. Still, she didn't like to be flamboyant about her natural abilities, as there were many people out there who just didn't understand the nature of magic and the possibilities it can bring. After all, people generally fear what they do not understand.

"You didn't lose your parents, though, did you?" Alyce asked a bit snippily after several moments of uncomfortable silence passed between the two young women.

"Well, no, but…I'm sorry. I should leave you alone," Theresa said, looking guilty.

Alyce sighed heavily and finally wiped the tears from her eyes. "No, I'm sorry. You're only trying to comfort me and I'm being...well…unpleasant. Thank you, Theresa."

She broke into fresh tears then and Theresa stepped over the threshold and wrapped her arms around her friend, gently stroking her brunette-auburn hair in the attempt to comfort her. After several moments of silence, only broken by Alyce's sobs, Alyce pulled away from her friend and hung her head.

"Th-thank you f-for coming over, T-Theresa. I…I think I need to be alone now."

"Will you be all right? If you need anything, you know I'm just down the hall," Theresa said kindly.

Sniffling, Alyce replied, "O-okay. Th-thank you."

Theresa gently squeezed Alyce's shoulder and smiled comfortingly before heading back down the hall to her own apartment. Alyce quietly shut the door. She felt numb as she slowly walked into the kitchen to begin cleaning up the shattered glass and spilt grape juice. It was a futile effort, though, and she quickly gave up, angrily throwing a large piece of the broken glass into the cupboards, splintering the glass even more. Taking a deep, ragged breath, Alyce turned and headed back into the living room. She sat down heavily in the armchair and cried herself to sleep.


	2. Beginning to Fall

**Note:** My version of magic and Wicca is much like that from the _Charmed_ TV series. Just wanted to make this clear so people don't start yelling at me for making the practice more fantastical.

**Disclaimer:** Again, I own nothing except Alysyn McArthur and a few other OCs.

* * *

Two months had gone by since the death of her parents. In that time, she had to arrange their funeral, sell their house, and deal with people constantly giving her a pity-party. Alysyn didn't want to be pitied. She just wanted to be understood – to fit in. Unfortunately, other than her friend and neighbor, Theresa Bonham, no one seemed to get why she was angry at the world. Theresa owned a small curio shop on the other side of Gotham, and was a practicing Wiccan. Like Alyce, she was a magic-user, and it was the sole reason the two got along and understood one another. Most of the people who went into Theresa's shop were those wanting to buy various herbs for natural remedies, rather than the magical trinkets. Some people went in there to receive psychic readings, as well, but there weren't too many in Gotham who actually practiced magic.

"What time do you have to be at the shop, Alyce?"

"Not for another hour. I just didn't want to stay by myself. My thoughts have been drifting too much lately," Alyce replied, folding her arms on the counter and leaning her chin upon them.

Alyce was sitting behind the counter of The Enchanted Moon curio shop talking with Theresa before she had to go to work buying and selling old books and artifacts. Her dark, brunette-auburn hair was pulled back in a butterfly clip, allowing shorter strands from her long layers to fall over the side of her round face. Having to look somewhat professional, Alyce wore a navy-blue, casual business suit that consisted of a white-collared shirt, a form-fitting sports jacket, a knee-length matching skirt, and a pair of silver, kitten-heeled shoes.

Theresa, wearing a pretty yellow summer dress and colorful berets in her short, wild ebony hair, frowned.

"What do you mean by 'drifting'? Alyce, your parents didn't want to move here with you. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

Alyce sighed. "I know, but their deaths are still very fresh in my memory, and I can't help but think that I should, no, _could_ have done something. I'm a witch. I could have saved them. Somehow…"

The corners of Theresa's mouth turned up a little in a wry grin. "Yes, but then you would have had to deal with the consequences. I'm not stupid, Alyce. I know what you would have done to that community."

"And they would have deserved it!" Alyce nearly yelled, sitting up and gripping the edge of the counter tightly in irritation. "Dammit, Theresa! What good are we if we cannot do what is in our nature to do? You know, sometimes I envy the Rogues of this city. At least they know what they want and have no problems doing what they need to do to get it!"

"Yes, but they're also insane. You are not," Theresa said, sighing and picking up a small sculpture of Hecate, the Greek goddess of magic and ghosts.

"Are they?" Alyce asked, folding her arms across her small chest. "Or are they just being free? Besides, some people label people like _us_ insane because of what we are and what we believe in. There are still a lot of skeptics who don't believe in the supernatural, let alone magic and witches."

"Heh, I guess you have a good point there, Alyce. It's unfortunate that most of society has forgotten their roots. Wicca, after all, was around long before God and Jesus were ever thought of."

"Exactly! I don't even understand how one guy could have created humans anyway. It takes _two_ to procreate!"

Alyce was practically fuming by this point. She always got riled up every time she got into these discussions. It ticked her off the way Wicca was most often viewed by the general public.

"Calm down, Alyce," Theresa said with a little chuckle. "There's really nothing we can do to change people's minds. It's sad, but that's the way it is. There will come a day when people will start opening up more. Probably won't be in our lifetime, unfortunately, but one day, people will know the truth about the spiritual world."

Alyce sighed and rubbed her temples, before replying, "I know. I'm just getting tired of society's bull-crap."

"Heh, I don't think that's all you're getting tired of. How's your job treating you lately? Is that Keith guy still bothering you?"

"Yes," Alyce answered with a roll of her green eyes. "I honestly don't know why Mr. Harper hired that jackass. He's such a jerk! I mean, the other day, I was sitting at my desk doing paperwork, minding my own business, and he comes in all high and mighty and says, 'Hey, baby,' and proceeds to stick out his tongue in a sexual manner before shaking his hips and rubbing himself. Honestly, the guy's a total turn-off. I should just hex him and be done with it."

"And Mr. Harper hasn't done anything about it?" Theresa asked in disbelief.

"He's given the guy a warning – a slap on the wrist, basically. I think Mr. Harper feels that jerk and I would make a good couple or something. The guy is _not_ my type."

Theresa giggled. "No. You need a _man_. What about Connor? You know, the guy that sometimes comes to the Gatherings? He seems to like you."

"He's not really my type either," Alyce said, smiling a little. "He's cute and everything, but…I don't know. I really don't think we have much in common past the supernatural. Besides, we only see each other like four times a year. He lives too far away for us to really have a proper relationship."

This was true. The Gatherings they had were for the solstices and equinoxes, which were held at the private property of High Priest and Priestess David and Jennifer McRae on the outskirts of Gotham. Both male and female witches would come from all over the United States to hold this celebration and to be among like-minded individuals. Connor was from Louisiana, so unless he moved to Gotham, or Alyce moved to Louisiana, it would be almost impossible for them to have a decent relationship.

"Ah, yes," Theresa said, giving her friend sly grin. "I almost forgot about your penchant for all things Alice in Wonderland. Not to mention croquet, tea… Maybe you should try hooking up with that Mad Hatter guy we've heard about on the news."

"Didn't you just tell me that the Rogues are crazy?" Alyce asked, now laughing a little.

"I did, but you made a good point of them being free. Besides, I was only joking, Alyce," Theresa replied.

"Somehow, I don't think you were joking."

There was a long pause before Alyce looked up at the clock and cursed. "Dammit! I'm going to be late for work! I've gotta run!"

With that, Alyce grabbed her purse and bolted for the door of her friend's curio shop. She said a rushed "goodbye" before jogging down the street towards the next block where her place of employment was located.

******

Alyce loved her job, as she often came across some interesting things. Well, she loved everything about it _except_ Keith "The Jackass" O'Brien. It had taken her a little over a year to get her feet wet in the working world of Gotham, so when she managed to snag the job at Harper's Antiques, she had been more than thrilled. At first, the owner, Edmund Harper, wasn't going to hire her because she didn't have any schooling in history, art history, or library science. Though since she was only nineteen at the time, Mr. Harper told her that, if she were willing to go to college for these things, he would hire her. Alyce did go to college, and she got the job, working at the antiques shop part-time after her classes. Once she graduated four years later, Mr. Harper hired her full-time as an assistant manager. He was getting old, he had told her, and needed someone to help him look after his shop since his wife had passed away a few years prior.

The day had gone by rather smoothly. Unless, of course, she counted the times when the jackass was being, well…a jackass. Alysyn had reported O'Brien – again – to Mr. Harper earlier in the day, but again, the old antiques dealer seemed to shrug it off. That had been the last straw. She had reported Keith several times since he started his crap with her, yet Harper didn't seem to care. Perhaps the old man was beginning to go senile? Or, perhaps it was because he had a hard time finding a full-time maintenance man? Whatever the case was with him, Alyce didn't care. She was currently dialing Edmund Harper's number on the phone so she could verbally put in her two-weeks notice.

"Hello, Mr. Harper. Oh, I've been better. Yourself? That's good. Unfortunately, I have to give you some bad news. I'm putting my two-weeks notice in. Yes, you heard me correctly. No, I appreciate everything you've done for me in the past seven years, but I've told you about Mr. O'Brien time and time again, and you've failed to do anything about him. Enough is enough, Mr. Harper."

There was a long pause, then, "Look, I'm really sorry, but—oh, I see. Well, I'm sorry to have offended you. I'll finish up my bookwork tonight and leave the keys to the shop under the counter. Good-bye."

Alyce hung up the phone and ran her hands through her dark, unruly hair, which she had taken out of its butterfly clip once the closed sign had gone up in the window. She sighed heavily, wondering if she had done the right thing. Mr. Harper had been offended that she decided to up and quit after everything he'd done for her. He told her to finish up tonight and not to bother coming back tomorrow. She felt a little guilty leaving him to his own devices, but if the man was going to keep making her work with a scumbag like O'Brien, then she felt she had no choice but to quit. Luckily, Alyce had procured quite a large sum of money from her parents' deaths and their house, which she managed to sell for around two hundred grand. She wouldn't be hurting for money for quite some time, to say the least.

"If he had just fired that scum, O'Brien, I wouldn't be leaving," she said to the empty shop. "Well, I suppose I should finish the bookwork so I can get out of here. Glad Keith left early so I don't have to deal with him…"

She was by herself, which was something she didn't mind at the moment. Harper's Antiques wasn't located in a particularly bad area of Gotham, and crime here consisted mostly of pickpockets and liquor store thieves. Alyce could handle herself if something were to go awry.

"Let's see here," she said to herself as she looked through the day's sales and buys. "One-thousand one-hundred dollars for the miniature vase from the Ming Cheng Hua era, six-hundred and fifty dollars for the English tortoise shell desktop blotter, three-thousand two-hundred and fifty dollars for the—"

_**CRASH!**_

The sound of a vase shattering on the hardwood floor of the main shop area nearly made Alyce jump out of her chair.

"Dammit!" she cursed silently to herself. "I knew I should have set the alarm before going to the office."

"You frumious bandersnatches! Be _careful_! We do not want to be leaving a mess, now do we?" Alyce heard an odd, English-accented voice yell.

"'Frumious bandersnatches?'" Alyce asked herself. "That's a line from Lewis Carroll! What in the world?"

She pressed her ear to the door of the office, which she had closed because she hadn't wanted to hear Keith's arrogant voice any longer. It was fortunate that she never bothered to open it back up after he had left; otherwise, whoever was currently out in the shop might have gotten the drop on her.

'_Maybe,'_ she thought with a mischievous grin, _'I can get the drop on __**him**__. It's time I stop caring what society thinks. Besides, if I use my abilities to take this guy out, perhaps more people will be open to having magic-users living among them…'_


	3. A Chance Encounter

Jervis Tetch stared at the broken Ming vase with a heavy frown. His two cohorts, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were clumsy oafs, even when they were controlled. He was pulling this robbery merely to throw the police and vigilantes off so he could go on with his real plans. He wanted this to go smoothly, and with Dee and Dum already breaking a very valuable item, which he could have later sold to someone on the Black Market for quite a bit of cash, he wasn't so sure it would work out as he predicted. The Mad Hatter couldn't be leaving any sign of him being here this evening, after all. Who knows what the police, or rather, the _Jabberwocky_, could find on the broken shards of antique pottery. The Bat had a way of finding the littlest of things to persecute a person with.

"Gutter trash…" Hatter said under his breath, shaking his head at his controlled lackeys. "At least there are still other things of good value here."

Suddenly, a bright white-blue ball of energy that hit a nearby shelf blinded Jervis. It crackled as it made impact, almost like a firework.

"What the…?" he began, before another white-blue ball came hurling directly towards him.

This one hit him square in the chest. He expected some sort of pain, but all he received was an intense tingling sensation after it dissipated. When he looked up, he saw a brunette-auburn haired woman in her mid to late twenties grinning at him. She waved her right arm in a wide arc, and to his amazement, another white-blue ball of energy formed in her hand. She tossed it up and down a few times as if she were playing with a softball.

"You have no business here," she said to him.

'_Was that a quote from __Alice__?'_ his mind asked, trying to fathom what he was seeing.

Jervis stared in dumbstruck fascination at the young woman standing behind the counter. The softball-sized energy ball crackled and popped as she continued to play with it.

"Wh-what…who are you?" he asked, getting his head back.

"No one of great importance, unfortunately, but if you must know, my name is Alysyn," she replied a bit sarcastically, tossing the ball of energy from her right hand to her left hand and back again.

'_She certainly doesn't look like Alice, but if that's her name, then she must be, mustn't she?'_

The Mad Hatter was certainly caught off-guard by this woman. It wasn't often he ran across…well, whatever she was, in his line of work.

"Now, miss…Alysyn…"

The name sounded a bit strange on his tongue, only because it was a form of the name of his ex-secretary, whom he had once obsessed over. Obviously, this was not Miss Pleasance, but the idea that he was dealing with another "Alice" made him feel both odd and ecstatic all at the same time. Though he had to admit to himself that this "Alice" was a bit unnerving. Who knew if those seemingly harmless energy balls could do something worse if she wanted them to.

"Maybe we could work something out, my dear," he said, trying to sound calm.

He gestured for his "hired" help to flank him in case he needed them to take a blow. Miss Alysyn raised a dark eyebrow at this before closing her right hand. The bright ball of energy dispersed with a fizzle, and she sat down on the stool with a tired huff.

"Fine. Take whatever you want. It's not like it matters much to me anymore. The old man wouldn't even let me work my last two weeks out," she said, sighing and crossing her arms over her chest.

'_Curiouser and curiouser…'_

He took a few cautious steps closer to the counter so he could get a better look at the woman he was dealing with. Aside from her rather unruly dark brunette-auburn hair he had spotted clearly in the dimly lit shop, he noticed a pair of forest-green eyes that appeared somewhat distant, curious, and…angry. She appeared angry, though not necessarily at him.

'_She did say her boss wouldn't let her finish her last two weeks. She was quitting, but what for? One would think it'd be rather interesting to work in a place like this. Speaking of, this means that she must like fine old things. I like fine old things. Very cozy, if you ask me. Good taste. What is she, exactly? She's not a jubjub bird, nor a jabberwocky, not the Queen of Hearts – too indifferent to be her, and I already met the Queen. A Mary-Ann, perhaps? No, she's a manager, I think; otherwise, she wouldn't be working so late. A Cheshire Cat? No, Gotham has one of those already. Her name is Alice, Alison, or Alysyn, but she's not __**the**__ Alice, is she? Hmmm…'_

When his thoughts finally decided to slow down a bit, he noticed that Miss Alysyn was giving him an expectant look.

"Oh! Beg pardon!" Hatter exclaimed. "I quite forgot my head for a moment. Do forgive me, Miss Alysyn. Where were we? Ah yes…it seems that you've caught me quite off-guard. The Mad Hatter, at your service…"

Jervis took off his signature dark green top hat and bowed low with a flourish.

"Yeah, I know who you are. Now are you going to start terms of agreement, or do I have to hex you?" the young woman said, impatience clearly written in her voice.

Hatter snapped his head up and narrowed his sky-blue eyes, turning his mouth up in a slight sneer. He stood up straight and put his hat back upon his bright red-haired head with a small amount of force.

"Well, there's no need to be rude," he said, offended, before indicating her currently unmanaged hair. "Your hair wants cutting!"

"Actually, it just needs brushed. I got it trimmed a few days ago," Alysyn deadpanned without missing a beat.

Jervis blinked, confused.

'_That was unexpected.'_

"And you should learn not to make such personal remarks," the young woman continued with some severity, much like the Alice in the book had remarked. "It's very rude."

'_Come now, we shall have some fun!'_

The Hatter quirked an eyebrow at her and said, "You seem well-versed in Lewis Carroll, my dear. Tell me, why is a raven like a writing desk?"

"Because they both will drive you to madness," Alysyn answered, grinning a little.

'_Is she enjoying these little quips?'_

Before he could say anything else, she went on, "I used to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass all the time when I was younger. It helped me get through some of the more…harsh days of my life."

"I see… That is a good answer to the riddle. Without making too many assumptions, you also seem to be enjoying our…bantering," he replied, not quite believing that he just happened to come across a strange woman who not only could produce some sort of energy, but who also knew Lewis Carroll like he knew the back of his own hand.

"Yeah, well, you've been the highlight of my night so far," Alysyn said. "So…are we going to 'work something out' or what? I'm quite tired and would like to go back to my apartment, take a hot shower, and get some sleep, if you wouldn't mind."

"Oh, right…well, I apologize, but you've got me curious. One doesn't run into someone with your…apparent ability everyday, my dear. May I ask your last name?" Jervis asked.

"Why do you want to know that? So you can later track me to my home and kidnap me like you did your ex-secretary a few years back?"

Jervis stiffened. She asked this with such ferocity in her smooth voice – a voice that sounded much more mature and nicer on the ears than Miss Pleasance's was. Speaking of, how dare she bring that up! Sure, he had lost his head back then. He had _thought_ that Miss Pleasance was his "Alice", but when it was all said and done, he realized that she was nothing more than a dead talking flower – dull and lifeless. This "Alice" had spark. A spark he wasn't sure he could handle.

'_Still, she could be fun…and useful.'_

Letting her ferocious questions go with a grain of salt, he said, "I assure you, my dear, that I mean no harm to you. I simply would prefer calling you something more proper."

Alysyn sighed. "Fine. It's McArthur."

'_Alysyn McArthur…now where have I heard that name? McArthur, McArthur…oh yes! She was mentioned on Gotham National News a few months ago. Weren't her parents burned at the stake or something of the sort? Oh dear…'_

Recognition dawned on his face, and his blue eyes became as wide as tea-saucers. _That's_ why she appeared angry, he surmised. Obviously, her parents really were, uh…Pagans, as the news had put it, so that meant that the energy he witnessed the young woman producing was _magic_! She's a witch!

'_I'd be angry at the world, too, if people persecuted my family and I for being different. Well, I __**have**__ been angry at the world because of that – not the family thing, just me – but I've learned that my so-called madness is freedom. Mayhap that's why she seems so indifferent about her current situation? Contrariwise, could she be thinking of travelling down the rabbit hole to join we who are free from society's bonds? Only one way to find out…'_

"My dear," he began, his voice taking on a soft, kind tone. "I'd first like to extend my deepest condolences about what happened to your parents."

Her green eyes hardened. "I don't want pity."

"Of course you don't, my dear!" Hatter exclaimed rather quickly for fear she might hex him. "You want to be understood – to fit in, and most of all, to be _free_. Am I correct?"

Alysyn looked at him a bit suspiciously. "Where, exactly, are you going with this, Hatter?"

'_She said my name! My __**real**__ name! I like that. And my assumption was correct; otherwise, I'm sure she would have denied it.'_

"My terms are this, Miss McArthur," he answered, now grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "If you allow me and my cohorts to take what we'd like here without stopping us, and if you help me with some plans I have, I can show you a world where society's rules mean nothing. Where they don't even exist. I can introduce you to people who will accept you and won't look down upon you because of your beliefs or abilities. I can show you _Wonderland_."

The young woman leaned her elbows on the counter now, and put a hand to her mouth, her brow furrowed in deep thought. Like she was weighing the consequences. Hatter waited patiently, clasping his hands in front of him. He allowed himself to give her a glance-over for the second time.

'_She is pretty, in a mundane sort of way. She's no runway model, that's for sure. Not too skinny, not too fat. Average. Perhaps even somewhat athletic, though it's hard to tell with the casual suit she's wearing. She has a smallish chest, too. Nothing to brag about. Her skin looks smooth and kind of pale, but not so pale that it would show ugly veins or blemishes. She's not wearing a lot of make-up, if any at all, either, which I like. Natural beauty is what I prefer, after all.'_

After several moments of silence, Alysyn finally said, "All right. I've always thought you guys were free. At least, your _souls_ are free, anyway. I wouldn't mind giving that freedom a shot."

If it were possible, Jervis grinned even wider.

"_However_," she went on, her voice turning stern. "If you try any of your funny business with those controlling devices you're so famous for, you'll find out rather quick that I'm capable of doing a lot more than just fancy light-shows and fireworks."

Hatter raised a red eyebrow at her, but said nothing. She sounded almost like the Queen of Hearts with that statement. Almost. He seriously doubted she'd kill him, but then again, she might. He needed to tread carefully with this "Alice", as he really didn't want to find out what her words truly meant. If it came down to the point where he felt seriously threatened by her, then he _would_ use his controlling devices, if only to subdue her for a time. He really didn't want to have to do that, though, as he actually wanted to try befriending her in a normal manner.

'_She's walking a thin line right now. Much like I once did before I finally tumbled down the rabbit hole. She just needs a simple nudge. A nudge which I shall give her.'_

"Well then…shall we, my dear?" Hatter asked, holding out a hand for her to take.

She didn't, making him frown a little. He watched her go back into the office. When she re-emerged a few seconds later, she tossed a set of keys onto the counter and threw a black purse over her shoulder. She then started for the door, but turned at the threshold and gave him questioning look.

"Um…aren't you going to take anything before we go? And should we head to your place, or mine?"


	4. Getting to Know You, Pt 1

They were going to the Mad Hatter's hideout. Alysyn questioned herself on whether she had made the right decision. She questioned this because of what the man is and what he offered. On the other hand, she was _seriously_ tired of being shut-off from being able to use her magical abilities openly. She was tired of hiding and yearned to show the world what she is capable of, despite the consequences.

'_What the hell am I so worried about? I've had enough. I've been telling myself for years – particularly the past few months – that I'm done. It's time I follow what my heart is telling me. Screw society. Screw society and its stupid morals, rules, and consequences!'_

She sighed, content at her decision to leave her normal life behind.

'_I do hope Theresa understands…'_

Casually, she looked over at the Mad Hatter. He was sitting next to her on the bench seat of the large white van they were riding in. "Tweedle Dee" was driving, and "Tweedle Dum" was in the passenger seat staring blankly into space. This made her wonder just how Tetch's controlling devices worked. Obviously, his controlees could carry on normal actions when prompted, but did they put a person into some sort of strong hypnotic trance so they _could_ be controlled? Alyce was curious. She also had to admit that she thought of her current situation as a kind of adventure. It wasn't every day you met one of Gotham's Rogues, after all.

As she gazed at the Hatter, she had to grin a little. _'He really does look like my favorite character from Carroll's book. He's not the cutest man I've ever seen, but not exactly ugly, either. He's definitely nerdy with his big ears, overbite, and long Roman nose. His wild red hair is kind of attractive, as are his blue eyes. Speaking of his eyes, they're…different. They twinkle in a way that tells me he could be dangerous if he wants to be.'_

The Hatter looked over at her, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm not a waxwork," he said, shifting in his seat a little.

"Sorry. If you want, I can pay," Alyce retorted, giving him a playful grin.

So far, she enjoyed playing along with the Mad Hatter. It reminded her of her childhood where she'd lose herself in the book in order to get away from the harsh realities called life. Alyce would often imagine herself having tea with the Hatter and March Hare, hearing stories from the sleepy Dormouse, and then imagining the Queen of Hearts ordering "off with their heads!" on people who gave she and her family a hard time.

'_I wonder if that is the reason Tetch often quotes things from the book. Obviously, he is a Carroll fanatic, but I wonder if the book helped him through rough spots in life as well.'_

Hatter raised an eyebrow after her remark, but said nothing. He seemed lost in his own little world at the moment, and Alyce didn't want to interrupt his thoughts further. The guy probably had a gun, after all.

'_I may be a witch, but that doesn't mean I can stop bullets. I'm not immortal.'_

The rest of the fifteen-minute trip passed by in somewhat uncomfortable silence until the van pulled into the empty parking lot of an abandoned factory. Alyce couldn't tell what sort of factory this had once been, but at the moment, she really didn't care. She was more curious about the supposed madman she had agreed to work with.

After the van pulled up to a loading dock, the Hatter said, "Dee! Dum! Do be careful with our cargo when you unload it, will you? Miss McArthur and I have some things we must discuss."

******

Jervis led Alysyn into the abandoned tea factory, around conveyor belts, up a set of stairs, and into the refurbished office area where he had made an apartment of sorts. It was fairly large, having one bedroom, a small living area, a kitchen with working appliances he'd procured, and a small working bathroom. It'd taken him a couple of weeks and the help of some controlled carpenters, plumbers, and electricians to get things the way he wanted it, but in the end, he was pleased. Of course, he helped design the layout and whatnot, and then procured all the necessary furnishings – again, using his devices. Jervis loved being able to take whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

"Have a seat, won't you?" Hatter offered somewhat bossily as he went into the kitchen to get a teapot out and fill it with water.

When he came back into the living room to ask what kind of tea Alysyn preferred, he found that Miss McArthur hadn't taken a seat. Rather, she was looking around curiously at the various trinkets he had scattered around. At the moment, she was looking at a pirate hat he had on one of the wall pegs. Jervis had many hats displayed upon the lilac-painted walls. From a tri-corn pirate hat bedecked with jewels and beads to a musketeer hat to a modern baseball cap, he had them all.

"I see you've taken an interest in one of my hats. Lovely, isn't it? I do love hats. And tea…we have plenty of it here, you know. It was left behind with this frabjous factory."

Jervis was admittedly nervous right now. He hadn't had a woman in his presence like this for a very long time. Not since Miss Pleasance, anyway, and this "Alice" was much different. She carried herself in a way that expressed confidence and attitude. Not only that, but she speaks Wonderland very well, and seemed to like playing along with him. He liked that a _lot_.

"Heh. You know what's funny?" Jervis heard Alysyn ask.

"Uh, no, what?"

"This pirate hat you have on the wall here symbolizes the very thing I wish to be. Everything I've decided to become. It symbolizes freedom in the fullest sense."

Alysyn reached up and gently fingered the long strand of beads before smiling a melancholy smile and looking at him. Jervis grinned in return.

'_It appears I do not need to give her a nudge. Perhaps it's all for the better. We'll have more fun this way. That is, if she truly __**is**__ my Alice.'_

"I was wondering what kind of tea you like. I have just about every flavor you can think of here, so you may take your pick."

"Chinese Green Tea would be nice, thank you," she replied kindly, now taking a graceful seat on the couch.

"Oh, no, my dear. We won't be having tea here. I have someplace better. Follow me," Jervis ordered with a sly grin, leading her back down the stairs and going beyond them to another part of the factory.

They went through one of the doors on the back wall of the facility and entered another wide-open space with a very long dining table placed in the center of it. Around the table were all different kinds of chairs, and the deep blue tablecloth was adorned with plates, teacups, saucers, spoons, a couple sugar bowls, a dish of butter, and a jar of marmalade.

"I'll be back in a jiffy. Stay here," Jervis said.

He then went back to the apartment area of the hideout to get the tea ready, as well as get some biscuits on. She was a guest, and he wanted to make her feel somewhat comfortable in his makeshift home.

******

Meanwhile, Alysyn took a seat in the armchair at the head of the table. She found this all rather amusing and fun. It was like she was being engulfed in her favorite childhood story once again, only this time, it was real. She was actually going to have tea with the Mad Hatter. All they needed now was a Dormouse and a March Hare.

Alyce giggled to herself, thinking of how ironic this all was.

'_Wait until I get to tell Theresa about __**this**__. She'll have a cow and probably wish she never made that joking suggestion early today. Hehe.'_

About ten minutes went by before the Hatter came back out carrying a silver tea tray with a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits upon it. He paused for a moment when he saw her sitting in the armchair, but then returned to putting the tray on the table. Hatter grinned and turned the teacup in front of her right side up. When he did, Alyce noticed that it had a large bite mark taken out of its rim. She couldn't help it. She had to say something.

"Did the Dormouse get a little hungry?"

Without missing a beat, the Hatter answered, "Yes. Well, actually, he does that when he's nervous, you see. The March Hare and I were discussing the Cheshire Cat one day and he accidentally took a bite out of the teacup instead of taking a sip of his tea. The poor dear broke a tooth in the process, which is why he isn't here right now. He's taking time to recover."

Alyce busted out laughing. She really couldn't contain herself after this answer.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to pull herself together. "That was just too funny. I, uh, excuse me, I hope he's all right."

Hatter merely smiled. "He'll be fine. Thank you for your concern, Miss McArthur. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. And don't worry. The cup has been washed since the incident."

He then took the seat closest to Alysyn on the left side of the table and poured himself some tea.

"Sugar?" he asked, holding up a small bowl of sugar cubes.

Still shaking a little with laughter, Alyce replied, "Yes, thank-you. One cube, please."

Hatter smiled at her politeness and carefully dropped a sugar cube into her cup. Alyce stirred the green tea with her teaspoon, blew on it a little, and took a small sip.

"Mmm, this is good. I think tea is my second most favorite drink, aside from hot chocolate."

"Tea is my first most favorite beverage. Don't really have any other most favorite."

There was a long moment of silence before the Hatter continued, "If I may be so bold, you don't look like Alice. Your hair is the wrong color."

Alyce nearly spit out her tea. "_Excuse_ me? Being a Carroll fanatic, I would think you should know that he based his book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, on a Miss Alice Liddell, who had _brunette_ hair, _not_ blonde hair! I have to say I think I look like her, thank you very much."

She didn't exactly know what it was, but his comment rubbed her the wrong way.

'_I barely know the guy, and I'm getting upset over the technicalities of a children's book! This is messed up.'_

Hatter merely smiled. "Why, you sound jealous, my dear. I am quite aware of whom Dodgeson wrote his book for. I was simply testing your own knowledge. Besides, the Alice in the book _is_ blonde, you know."

"Yes, that may be true, but that doesn't mean I don't have the same personality as Alice. I _am_ Alyce!"

She then grabbed her purse, which she hadn't removed from her person since coming into this place, and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. She proceeded to write "Alysyn" on it, followed by an equals sign and then her nickname, "Alyce", on the paper. She slid it over to him to emphasize her point.

"See?!"

'_Whoa…okay, I need to calm down. This is starting to get to me a little…'_

The Hatter blinked, looked at the paper, and took a casual sip of his tea before replying, "My, my. There's no need to get upset, _Alyce_. If you really feel you are who you say you are, then you should at least try dressing the part. It just might suit you."

He grinned devilishly here, and Alyce just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Are you implying that I should become my namesake?"

"You just said yourself, my dear, that you are Alyce, did you not?" Hatter asked, folding his hands and resting them underneath his square chin.

Now it was he who looked like he was having fun, as he had an amused smile upon his face.

"Well, yes, I did, but…" Alyce replied, looking uncertain.

"But what? My dear, if you truly want to be free, then you must embrace who you truly are."

"What I _truly_ am is a witch. A magic-user. That means I should be going around wearing wizard's robes all the time, not an Alice dress."

"Ah, but just because you are a witch doesn't mean you cannot be Alyce as well."

There was another long pause as Alysyn mulled this over in her mind. Hatter had a point there. She really did feel like Alice sometimes – especially right now. Hell, even her classmates in grade school often told her to go back to Wonderland, where she belongs. Magic and Wonderland _do_ go hand-in-hand, after all. Besides, she _had_ agreed to work with him for a while, hadn't she?

'_Well, I guess if I'm to fit in with his modus operandi, I should look the part. I just hope he doesn't take things too far. Then again, I might like it. Who knows? Theresa may have been joking, but so far, this is the only man I've felt somewhat comfortable around. I already know he and I have much in common. Society has been rough on both of us, we both love __Alice in Wonderland__, we both like tea...it's a good start.'_

Nodding her head crisply to herself, Alyce said to the Hatter, "Fine. I'll play the part of Alice, but the dress will be done _my_ way. I have certain tastes in clothing, and wearing something that will make me look like a child is _not_ one of them."


	5. The Downward Spiral

The following afternoon, Jervis escorted his new friend to her apartment so she could pick up a few things. He had let her sleep in his bed last night, while he had taken the couch in the living room. At first, Alyce hadn't wanted to stay, but after some convincing by telling her that he wouldn't harm her or do anything, uh, disrespectful, she reluctantly agreed to spend the night. His controlling devices weren't the only means he had to control someone. He had his ways of verbal manipulation as well, and with a mind like hers being in such conflict, it was rather easy to steer her to his will without her completely catching on.

Still, he couldn't help but think of how well she was taking all of this. If it were any other _normal_ woman, she would have tried to escape in the middle of the night, or would have done something to show that she was afraid. Alyce hadn't. Jervis supposed it had a lot to do with her being able to do magic, but he wasn't so sure. After all, she _had_ played along with him of her own free will, hadn't she?

'_Perhaps the book I so love helps her out, too. She __**did**__ say that she used to read Carroll's work during the rougher times of her life,'_ he thought as he parked the van in the alley behind Alyce's apartment building.

Hatter left Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum back at his hideout. It would look too suspicious if Alyce's neighbors saw her walking into the building with three strangely dressed men. One oddly dressed man was bad enough. Besides, he didn't think he needed the Tweedles at the moment.

The two entered the apartment building, rode the elevator up to the third floor, and walked down the hall until they came to apartment thirteen. There appeared to only be about five apartments per floor, Jervis noted, as they had passed two other sets of rooms before reaching Alyce's.

As Alyce dug around in her purse for her key, the door to apartment twelve opened revealing a woman no older than Alyce with short black hair sporting a tan. She jogged up to them, seemingly not noticing the Hatter standing there.

"Alyce! Oh thank the gods you're home! I called you last night and didn't get an answer, and then I called you again this morning. Still nothing! Where have you been?! I was worried something might have happened to–oh!"

Theresa jumped back a little, startled, when she finally noticed the Mad Hatter standing there. Jervis raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uh, hi, Theresa!" Alyce said, grinning uncertainly. "Um, why don't you come in so we can talk?"

When Theresa looked suspiciously at the Hatter, Alyce added, "Please, Theresa. I don't want to have to hurt you."

Finally finding the key, she shoved it into the lock and opened the door to her apartment. Hatter and Alyce went in first, followed very cautiously by Theresa.

When everyone was inside, the door was shut and Alyce said, "Theresa, I—"

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" her friend asked waspishly, glaring brown-eyed daggers at the Hatter.

Hatter was rightfully offended. "I most certainly did _not_ do anything to her, my dear young lady! What would make you think _that_?"

"Because of who you are!"

"Theresa, I can explain. Please, sit down," Alyce said, trying to keep everyone calm, including herself.

"You'd better explain. My friend doesn't bring home _insane criminals_."

Jervis frowned heavily. Insane? _Insane_? He was _not_ insane.

'_Maybe I should teach this chit some manners…'_

He began to approach said woman slowly, a dangerous glint in his blue eyes.

"Hatter! Please…" Alyce nearly begged, seeing the look in his eyes.

Jervis looked at Alysyn, then back at Theresa. He sneered at her before deciding to take a look around the apartment. He was trying to ignore the thought of turning Theresa's mind to mush. Honestly, he wasn't expecting Alyce to have a close friend, let alone a friend living in the same apartment complex on the same floor.

'_This could be a problem. She'd better not contact the police. Then I'll __**have**__ to take her head!'_

As he gazed around the living space, he noticed several porcelain figurines scattered about. Upon getting a closer look, he realized that they were of various gods and goddesses. Looking further, he also saw a small bookcase filled to the brim with nothing but occult books. Another shelf held several different colored candles, incenses, and oils. In the far corner of the living room, to the north, is what looked to be an altar, as it was round, had a blue cloth with a pentagram on it, a couple more candles, and two more figurines. These ones were of Zeus and Hera. He also noticed that her television was practically mutilated.

'_Interesting. I wonder what happened…'_

"You _what_?!" the Hatter suddenly heard Theresa yell.

"You heard me, Theresa," Alyce was saying, giving her friend a tired look. "I'm done. Mr. Tetch has offered to show me a whole other world, and I'm taking him up on his offer. We made an agreement."

"But you let him steal all those antiques! Alyce, the police will be knocking on your door soon, you know that, right? They'll think you took those things."

"Well, technically, I did take those things. At least, I _helped_ take those things… It doesn't matter to me anymore. I'm tired of being looked down upon because of what I am – of who I am. I need to be free, and the Hatter agreed to help me achieve that freedom."

"I can't believe this," Theresa said, now beginning to pace around the living room, her arms crossed over her chest. "I _was_ only joking yesterday, but apparently, you took that joke at face-value."

"What joke was that?" Hatter asked, turning to the conversation.

Alyce blushed. "I'll tell you later."

"Hm. Okay."

Theresa sighed angrily. "I don't like it, but if that's the way you feel, then so be it. I cannot stop you. I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt you one day. Good-bye, Alysyn."

With that, Theresa stormed out of Alyce's apartment and slammed the door closed behind her.

"Well, I think that went rather well, don't you, Alyce?" Jervis asked, smiling cheekily.

When she didn't respond right away, he frowned. He could hear soft sobs coming from the loveseat she was sitting on, and he turned his nose up. That Theresa woman made his new friend cry!

"Oh come now! There's no need to be drowning in a pool of tears," he said, pulling out a white handkerchief and offering it to her.

"She hates me. I thought she would understand! She was my friend!" Alyce replied, taking the offered hankie and blowing her nose into it.

"A true friend would have understood, my dear. Obviously, she wasn't truly your friend to begin with."

"How would _you_ know, Hatter?!"

"I know because something similar happened between myself and my ex-secretary."

"You controlled your ex-secretary! If you were _her_ friend, you wouldn't have done such a thing!" Alyce practically screeched, throwing the handkerchief back at him with some force.

Jervis' eyes narrowed darkly. He quickly closed the distance between them.

He put his hands on either side of her, moved his face close to hers, and said dangerously, "How dare you! How dare you make assumptions that you know nothing about! I would have _killed_ her before I left her alone!"

"Get out," Alyce ordered, her green eyes looking just as dangerous.

She stood from her seat, making the Hatter back up a little, and glared daggers at him. Hatter could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand on-end, and it made him slightly nervous.

"If that's what you have to say to me, then _**get out**_!"

A sudden, violent shock coursed through Jervis' body after she yelled this. He convulsed and slobbered involuntarily for a full three seconds before he was thrown unceremoniously into the partition dividing the kitchen from the living room. He continued to convulse lightly for several seconds afterwards, but eventually he was able to stop. His brain felt extremely numb, he had bitten his tongue, and hurt badly all over. His poor hat, which had fallen off during the convulsions, had been scorched around the brim where he kept his main controlling unit.

"Just then came down a monstrous crow, as black as a tar-barrel…" he heard Alyce recite before the world around him went black.

******

Three hours passed by since Alyce had sent a magical lightning blast at the Mad Hatter. During this time, she had taken a hot shower, changed her clothes, and had begun packing a couple of large duffle bags. One had all of her occult books, candles, incenses, oils, herbs, and small glass potion phials. The other contained all the necessary personal items, as well as a couple sets of clothes. She had also made a healing potion for when the Hatter woke up.

Alyce was well aware of the potential dangers of getting involved with a Gotham Rogue, but really, she wasn't much different from them. She had just proved that to herself. It had felt _good_ to use her magic to hurt someone. Though she had to admit that it wasn't the Hatter she had wanted hurt. She was angry with Theresa for not understanding. Of all the people she knew, she thought her friend could see where she was coming from. Not only that, but Tetch had said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and she could no longer contain the demons building up inside of her.

"Uhhnnn…"

'_Oh good, he's waking up,'_ she thought, adjusting the white flexible corset she was currently wearing.

She walked over to where he was slumped against the partition.

******

Jervis' eyes fluttered open slowly. His head was spinning, his vision was blurry, and he felt like Batman had just beaten the crap out of him. He vaguely remembered what happened. He'd said something he shouldn't have, and the next thing he knew, he was being violently shocked! After that, he couldn't remember anything except the crazed look on Alyce's tear-stained face and the quote she had uttered before everything had gone black.

Hatter tried to move, but found that it hurt too much. His neck felt stiff, and he remembered being thrown against the wall and slumping down to the floor. Apparently, that's where he had remained for some time. She hurt him! Alyce had hurt him, and if she had wanted to, she probably could have killed him! Hatter wasn't too thrilled, to say the least.

'_But she didn't kill you, did she?'_

As Jervis' vision finally decided to focus itself, he found Alyce crouched down in front of him, staring. He tried to reach out and grab her throat, but he was still too weak. Instead, he just glared darkly at her, his mouth turned up in a silent snarl.

"I'm glad you're finally awake. Here, take this," she said, holding a small glass phial of green liquid out to him.

She uncorked it, and when he caught its scent, he nearly choked.

Alyce grinned. "Don't worry, it won't kill you. If I had wanted to do _that_, I would have done it by now. This will simply clear your head and make your pain subside. It's a healing draught."

Jervis looked at the phial, then to Alyce, before cautiously taking it from her. Pinching his nose, he downed the smelly green liquid in one gulp, cringing when it hit the bottom of his stomach.

"It's disgusting," he said with a sour look.

"Heh. Potions generally _don't_ smell or taste very good, Mr. Tetch."

A few moments passed and the Hatter felt his head slowly beginning to clear up a bit more. The aches in his body also began to subside, and he found he could move a little better. He stayed where he was, though, as he didn't want to take the brunt of Alyce's magic again. He may be angry with her for attacking him, but he wasn't stupid enough to give her cause to attack again.

'_She's powerful. Oh so powerful. If only I could harness that power. If only I could harness __**her**__! I can't help but find myself attracted to her. She's independent, smart, yet naïve, and I—WOW!'_

Hatter found himself staring at what looked to him like a Renaissance version of the dress Alice in the book wore. Alysyn's dress consisted of a deep sky-blue peasant blouse with sleeves that went off the shoulder. The bottoms of these sleeves were pulled up just above her elbows, giving them a poufy appearance. Over top the peasant blouse, she wore a flexible white corset with a nice brocade pattern that wouldn't be visible had he not been this close to her. While the garment was meant to lift a woman's bosom, it wasn't too scandalous, since she had the blouse positioned in a way that covered any cleavage the corset would have produced. The bottom part of her dress was a double-layered deep sky-blue skirt that went down to just below her knees. Hatter guessed that Alyce had hiked it up that way on purpose, as it looked fuller around the hips than a normal skirt of its nature would be. The top front layer of this skirt was hiked up completely and tucked underneath her corset to reveal a white lace petticoat over top the second layer. Together with the corset, it vaguely resembled the apron Alice wore in the book, minus the pockets. Alyce also wore a pair of knee-high black moccasins that were laced up with thick blue ribbons that wrapped around the top and tied into bows in the back.

'_Very creative… I __**like**__ it!'_

"Hey, are you with me?" he heard Alyce ask.

"Where did you get your dress?"

"I made it for Halloween last year. I wanted it to look more like a pirate wench outfit, but it ended up looking more like Alice's dress when I was done playing around with different styles," she answered off-handedly.

"Well, it suits you, my dear. Though I do hope you are wearing bloomers. A draft will surely allow others to see regions I'm sure you don't want them to see."

Alyce smirked, stood up, and lifted her skirt up so fast that Hatter didn't have time to look away. Indeed, she _was_ wearing a pair of bloomers underneath. White ones with lace around the knees, as a matter of fact.

"A simple 'yes' or 'no' would have sufficed," Hatter said, blushing furiously.

She lowered the skirt, grinning. "When I dress in costume, I go all-out."

An apologetic look came upon her fair features, and she went on, "Um…I'm sorry for hurting you, by the way. You just said the wrong thing to me at the wrong time. I lost it. I didn't mean to attack you like that. You're only trying to show me a path I've been teetering on for the past few months, and I went off on you. I'm sorry, forgive me."

Hatter sighed. "Yes, well, I shouldn't have said what I said. Under the circumstances, I understand. I would have wanted to hurt me, too. You are forgiven…Alyce."

He smiled a little and felt like he could move again. He did, slowly picking himself off the floor with Alyce's help. He couldn't be angry with her, could he? He understood where she was coming from because he had been through similar situations in the past. Besides, she had given him a…potion…to help him recover. If she had seriously meant to hurt him, she wouldn't have given him the healing draught.

Retrieving his hat, he turned his nose up at the scorch marks around its band.

'_Well, there goes the Tweedles,'_ he thought before putting the Hat back upon his head.

During the next few moments of silence, he watched Alyce fold the blue altar cloth neatly and put it into a large duffle bag. Another large duffle bag seemed packed full, and he grinned, realizing that she was truly serious about joining his little tea party. Her lovely outfit and her apology already told him this, but seeing the packed bags just solidified things. After putting a couple of her deity figurines into the bag, Alyce zipped it up, and grabbed a long, white cloth belt with two large white pouches on it. She wrapped it around her waist, tying the ends in the back, which formed a large bow over top the blue skirt. It truly completed her unique look.

Suddenly, Jervis heard sirens blaring in the distance, and they were getting closer by the second. He looked over at Alyce, who gave him a somewhat scared, wide-eyed expression.

"I suggest we get out of here. Now," Hatter said, going over to one of the duffle bags and slinging it over his shoulder.

It was heavy, but he would manage. Alyce grabbed the other bag, and the two headed out of the apartment complex as fast as they could. Neither of them knew if the sirens they heard were from cop cars, but they didn't care. It was better to be safe than sorry.


	6. His Alyce

When they arrived at Jervis' hideout, they found Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum lying on the concrete floor of the factory, their control cards still secured to the underside of their multi-colored beanies. Their eyes were wide and seemingly lifeless, but Jervis knew the thugs were simply in a heavy trance from the cards.

'_Now I'll have to either repair the controlling unit, or make a new one,'_ Jervis thought, scowling. _'Of all the hexes Alyce probably could have used on me, why did she have to use __**electricity**__?!'_

He sighed. There was no use in getting too worked up over the matter. This incident could give him the perfect opportunity to enhance his devices. He'd wanted to give them a slight upgrade for quite some time, after all.

'_I wonder…would it be possible for Alyce to give the wearer of my devices a magical ability? Oh, how frabjous that would be! Imagine the look on Batman and his little clan's faces when they find out that my helpers are able to wield magic! I must talk to Alyce about this, but first, I shall help her unpack.'_

With a large grin on his face, he went up the stairs to his makeshift apartment and set the duffle bag he was carrying onto the couch. Alyce wasn't too far behind and set the bag she was carrying next to the other one.

"Thank you, Hatter," Alyce said, giving him a warm smile.

"You're quite welcome, my dear. Eh, if you like, you may call me Jervis. Though if you wish to keep calling me Hatter, that's fine too," Jervis replied, shifting his blue eyes away from her as he spoke.

'_Now, don't be nervous, Hatter. Just act natural.'_

"Uh, I was thinking on the drive here where we could set up your, uh…supplies. Is there anywhere in particular where you'd prefer doing that?"

Alyce thought for a moment. She needed to set up an altar facing the north. Anything would do for the altar. An old crate, a short filing cabinet…basically anything that was tall enough and had a flat surface that she could work on. She also needed a place to store her books and other equipment.

"Well…where's the north part of the building located?" she asked.

"Hmm, there's another small office – a lead's office, I think – on the north wall, same side that I have my workshop set up," Jervis answered. "I can show you that, if you'd like. Follow me."

He led Alyce down the steps and to the left of the factory where there was a room with two large windows facing the inside. It looked out to the area they had just walked through, which was once the packing and shipping area. Next to what Alyce assumed was the lead's office, there was an open-area workshop that Jervis had set up for himself. Various electronic parts and equipment were scattered over the wooden table, some blueprints were pinned to the back wall, and a picture of Batman had been drawn on, making the Dark Knight look like a Jabberwocky. A circle with a slash through the center was drawn over top of it as if it were an anti-Batman-Jabberwocky sign. Alyce had to hold in her giggles at the sight.

'_Hehe. Guess he hates Batman. Can't really blame him after the Bat has put him in Arkham time and again,'_ she thought. _'Hatter's path really isn't that free with the vigilante flying around. Perhaps I could help change that… I'm on a mission to truly free myself, so why not help others on __**their**__ mission as well? The Gods smile upon witches who use their magic to help others, after all."_

Once the Hatter opened the door to the office, Alyce went in and looked around. It wasn't too bad. There was an outside window facing north, the small desk would make a good altar, and there were old filing cabinets she could use to store her books and other items in. There was also room to display her figurines.

'_Yes, this will do quite nicely.'_

"Thank you…Jervis," she said. "This will work perfectly."

Jervis grinned. "Excellent! Do you mind if I help you unpack? I'm not well-versed in the ways of the occult, and I'm a bit curious about it."

Alyce smiled in return. "Sure, I don't mind. I'll go get the bag…"

Jervis watched her walk off to retrieve her stuff. He admired her wavy shoulder-length, brunette-auburn hair as it bounced to and fro with each step she took. When she was out of sight, he sighed and looked around the room. He turned up his nose when he realized how dusty and dirty it was. He hadn't had much use for it; therefore, he never bothered to keep it clean. When Alyce returned a few moments later and set her bag on top of the desk, a small cloud of dust rose up. She coughed a little.

"I do apologize. Had I known I'd have a long-staying guest, I would have tidied up a bit," Jervis commented, looking a little sheepish.

"No worries, Jervis. I can take care of it," Alyce replied, giving him a mischievous twinkle.

"Space that is a waste, be clean without haste!" she rhymed to the office.

As soon as she uttered the incantation, what Jervis could only describe as a wave of silver sparkles engulfed the room. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone –the dirt, dust, and grime along with it.

"Wow…" was all he could manage to say, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open in awe.

Jervis could now actually see out the outside window, which allowed him to view a small, unkempt courtyard, of sorts.

Alyce giggled. "Well, you said you were curious about the occult."

"Yes, yes I did," Jervis replied, quickly getting a grip on himself. "That was amazing. What else can you do, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, basically, I can do anything my mind can imagine. Some magic requires incantations, like you just witnessed. Other spells I just simply need to imagine what I want to have happen, and wave my hands," Alyce answered, taking a seat in the now clean leather desk chair.

She sighed, before going on, "Though I must admit this is the first time I've really used my powers in front of or on others. It feels kind of good to let loose whenever I want. Not on you, of course. Sorry, again…"

Alyce said this last part very quickly to avoid being sneered at. She liked the Hatter better when he smiled. He was much more charming then, even when that same grin turned devilish.

"It's all right. I just hope I never give you cause without reason to use your magic on me again," Jervis responded.

"I hope not either. I'm beginning to like you, after all," Alyce said with a smile, making Hatter blush a little.

"Anyway," she continued, "I never got to use my magic very much growing up. Though that never stopped me from practicing in the middle of the night or when I was out in the woods by myself with no one around to bother me. People generally tend to freak out at the sight of something they don't quite understand, so I tried to avoid using it in front of others. So far, you're the first non-magical person to have seen some of the things I can do. What's more is that you didn't flip out when you saw it."

"Well, my dear, I think that's because I've always believed there was something out there. That magic does, in fact, truly exist. Not only that, but there are Meta-humans and aliens co-existing amongst us 'normal' folk, so why not magic-users?" Jervis said matter-of-factly. "The world is a Wonderland, my dear. It's just a matter of knowing how to find it."

A moment of comfortable silence passed between them before Alyce unzipped her duffle bag and began pulling out books, candles, and other things and setting them upon the desk. She opened up the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet and started putting her books, spines up, neatly into it. She had a little over a dozen books – some thick, some thin, some paperback, some hardback, and one old, leather-bound tome that she left out.

"What's that?" Hatter asked, looking at the old book.

Alyce smiled as if in remembrance. "This was my parents' Book of Shadows. I haven't touched it since I moved to Gotham eight years ago. My parents made me take all of their occult items when I moved in the hopes that the community wouldn't torment them any further. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to please those bastards living there."

She said this last part with so much hate that it made Jervis cringe.

"You could always have your revenge, you know," he suggested casually, finally taking a seat in the other chair that was in the small office.

"I've thought about it. I've thought about burning them all inside of their own church on Sunday morning while they're at mass. Hearing their screams of agony as they're burned alive – just like my parents were."

There was another moment of silence here, and Jervis grinned. While he did not particularly enjoy hurting people, there were times when it didn't bother him in the slightest. This was one of those cases that didn't bother him. Those people would be deserving of Alyce's wrath. If his own parents had been murdered such like Alysyn's had, he would probably do the same thing.

"But," he heard Alyce go on with a heavy sigh, "I don't think revenge would be worth it. There are other things more worth wasting my energies on."

"Oh? Like what?" Jervis queried.

"Like helping myself, and you, achieve what we want," she answered, smiling again.

Hatter grinned. This was the perfect opportunity to ask if she could imbue magic into his controlling devices.

"Yes, I was…wondering if you'd be able to help me. I have a grand idea for a new device. Do you think there is a way to give my controlees a magical power?"

Alyce furrowed her brow in thought. "I'm not sure. All I should have to do is cast a charm on the device the person is wearing. That charm would then imbue the wearer with a single magical ability. It'd be kind of like an amulet. That is, of course, assuming I have a good idea on how your devices work."

"And how do you think they work, my dear?" Hatter asked, his grin growing wider.

"Well, I think they connect with the person's mind. They'd have to; otherwise, you wouldn't be able to control them. As to _how_ you control them, I have no idea," Alyce answered.

"Ah, my dear, you are bright," Jervis said, slightly impressed. "You've guessed correctly. My devices _do_ connect to a person's mind. It's a simple matter of disrupting brainwaves so they fall into a strong hypnotic, trance-like state. This allows me to give commands via a master controlling unit I store inside my hat."

He sounded very proud of this, and Alyce was intrigued. The man really _is_ a genius, if a little eccentric.

"Well, if that's what you'd like me to help you with, then all we can do is try. Magic is a lot like science. I've often had to experiment with it to see what kinds of results are produced. Particularly with spells I come up with off the top of my head, and potions. Mostly potions. They're sometimes hard to brew…"

She began to ramble, and Jervis couldn't help but find this somewhat endearing. The fact that she wanted to help him made him smile with glee. He now had a seemingly powerful ally who was beginning to _like_ him. Not many people – particularly women – liked him, and since he was attracted to her, well…perhaps something more than just a business partnership could develop.

'_Just take it slow, Jervis. Don't push yourself on her, or she might run. You don't want that, now do you?'_

"Excellent!" he replied after a moment. "Then we shall experiment together. But first, I will need to make repairs to my controlling unit so the Tweedles will once again be of some use. It shan't take me more than a few hours."

With an excited grin, Jervis bounced up from his seat and went next door to his work area where he proceeded to remove the fried controlling unit and examine it. Alyce watched him for a few more minutes as he heated up the soldering iron and began plucking off what she assumed were unusable parts. She smiled as he began singing a tune to himself. A tune she recognized from Lewis Carroll's famous book.

"Will you, won't you, will you, won't you…" then she heard, "why yes, she will. She has!"

She blushed a little, knowing that he was speaking of her, before continuing to unpack her supplies.

'_I do like him,'_ she thought, taking the duffle bag off the desk and placing her blue altar cloth on top of it. _'He's good-looking, in my opinion, a gentleman, and yet a bad-boy. I know he can be dangerous. I saw the look in his eyes earlier today in my apartment. I don't care, though. He hasn't hurt me yet, and if he knows what's good for him, he won't even try. I don't __**want**__ to hurt him again. I still feel bad about earlier as it is.'_

Alyce put a couple white candles, and her figures of Zeus and Hera on top of the cloth before putting the rest of her supplies away in the desk drawers and the top of the filing cabinet. When she was finished, she grabbed the empty bag and walked out of the small office, stopping when she saw Jervis busily fixing the damaged control band. Curious, she carefully walked up beside him and peered around his shoulder to see exactly what he was doing.

Feeling a presence beside him, Jervis glanced over and grinned a little when he saw Alyce curiously watching him work. The damage wasn't as bad as he initially thought, which was good. It meant that he wouldn't have to do so much to make it useable again. Later on, he would start working on a new device that would allow him to erase memories. That would come in quite useful – particularly if his lackeys got caught. They wouldn't be able to tell the authorities or the Bat where he's hiding out if their memories have been erased. Those would be the devices Jervis would have Alyce imbue her magic into.

After a few moments, he felt Alyce leave and heard her walking back up the stairs to the apartment area. He really did like her. Not just because of her magical abilities, but because she seemed to understand him to some extent. Like him, she didn't fit into normal society, she loved Lewis Carroll, she liked tea, and she was just…he couldn't explain it, really. He just liked her, plain and simple.

'_I think I may have finally found my __**true**__ Alice… I will have to introduce her to some of my friends soon. Perhaps tomorrow, invitations to tea are in order...'_

******

Later that night, on top of Gotham City Police Headquarters, Commissioner Gordon stood beside the Bat-signal, waiting for the vigilante to arrive. Detectives Renee Montoya and Harvey Bullock were there as well, since they were the ones who had questioned Theresa Bonham about her friend, Alysyn McArthur.

"Do you think he'll show, Commissioner?" Montoya asked, leaning against the side of the signal.

"Who cares? I say we track down the Hatter ourselves, Commish. You put too much faith into that vigilante sometimes, and it's gonna be our downfall one day," Bullock stated.

Commissioner James Gordon ignored the heavy-set detective. It was well known throughout the precinct that Bullock hated Batman. Instead, Gordon answered Montoya.

"I hope so, Renee. We don't know where the Hatter is, or what he and Miss McArthur might be planning. Batman might be able to help us track them down."

Suddenly, they heard the fluttering of a cape.

"What's wrong, Commissioner?" a deep, gravelly voice asked from the shadows of the rooftop.

Gordon had Bullock shut down the signal, and he approached the Dark Knight.

"The precinct received a call late this afternoon from a Miss Theresa Bonham. She claimed that her friend down the hall, a Miss Alysyn McArthur, was harboring the Mad Hatter. Police were already on their way to question Miss McArthur about the theft at her place of employment, Harper's Antiques, the previous night. When Montoya and Bullock questioned Miss Bonham, she said that Miss McArthur had confessed to helping Tetch steal the antiques."

"I see…did Miss McArthur appear to be under his control?" Batman asked.

Montoya stepped forward. "From what Miss Bonham said, no, Miss McArthur wasn't under the Hatter's control."

"You think she might be working with the Hatter on her own accord?"

Montoya nodded. "Miss Bonham insisted that McArthur didn't appear to be under any kind of influence. Supposedly, McArthur had been thinking of a 'different path' for quite some time, according to her friend. When we searched her apartment, we only found a small, empty bookcase and some missing personal hygiene products, indicating that she fled, possibly with the Hatter."

"Hmm…it's possible that the Hatter had intended to steal the antiques for himself, but came across Miss McArthur. Isn't she the young woman whose parents were murdered in western Pennsylvania a few months ago?"

"Yes, she is," Gordon answered. "For witchcraft, supposedly, though none of the local investigators found anything relating to the occult in the McArthur's home."

"All right. I'll see what I can find. Hatter's been quiet since he escaped Arkham four months ago. He's bound to slip-up soon."

With that, Batman fired his grappling-gun, jumped off the building, and flew into the night.

"Do you really think he'll find anything, Commish?" Bullock asked, lighting a cigarette. "_We_ don't even have any leads as to where they could have gone."

"You should be well aware by now, Bullock, that Batman has a way of tracking his Rogues down better than we do. If anyone can find Tetch or McArthur, it's him."


	7. Invitations and Obsession

"Okay, now you'll have to clearly envision the person you want to send this to while your hand is on top of the invitation," Alyce said as the Hatter did as instructed.

It was early in the afternoon the next day when Hatter told Alyce that he wanted her to meet some of his acquaintances. He knew that the Scarecrow, the Joker and Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and the Riddler were out of Arkham, so those were the people he was going to invite. The problem was getting a hold of them. He didn't know where their hideouts were, and of course, had no phone numbers. That's when Alyce suggested they use her magic.

Alyce put her hand over his, which was resting on one of the invitations. Jervis shifted a little in his seat on the couch when she did this. Her touch was gentle and warm, and he felt butterflies in his stomach.

'_Control yourself, Jervis. She simply has to do this in order for her spell to do its job.'_

"You have the Scarecrow pictured clearly in your head?" she asked, her green eyes looking into his blue ones.

"Ye-excuse me," he choked. "Yes, I do."

"Are you sure? You have to be thinking of him and no one else right now; otherwise, this spell won't work," she said, looking at him a bit doubtfully.

Hatter took in a deep breath, picturing his friend, and replied, "Got him. Do it."

"Person in this man's mind, receive this invitation in hasty time!"

Pale golden sparkles engulfed both Jervis' and Alyce's hands. Jervis felt as if his hand had fallen asleep when this happened, but as soon as he'd felt this sensation, it vanished. When he removed his hand from where it had been, the invitation was gone.

"Very curious…" Hatter said, looking almost like a giddy schoolboy. "You know, I almost thought about keeping your abilities a secret from my acquaintances until later on, but if this doesn't get their attention about my new friend, then nothing will."

Alyce frowned a little. "I told you I don't want to hide who I am any longer."

"Oh, I know, my dear. It's just that I thought it might have been fun to surprise them after they got here," Hatter said with a grin.

Alyce raised a dark eyebrow at him and shook her head in amusement.

"You can be ornery, can't you?"

"Well, I've never heard it put quite like _that_, but I suppose so, yes," he answered, looking at her warmly.

Over the next ten minutes, they proceeded to send the three remaining invitations out. Once that was done, Hatter went off to the kitchen to begin preparing snacks for the tea party.

"Would you like some help?" Alyce asked, standing in the doorway to the small kitchen.

"Oh, no, my dear. I'm fine. There's no room, anyway."

Alyce almost said, "but there's plenty of room," until she realized that his kitchen was even smaller than hers had been.

"All right. Well, if you need me, I'll be around. I think this place could do with some wards."

Jervis looked at her. "Wards?"

"Yes, wards. Spells that will keep unwanted intruders at bay should they enter," she answered nonchalantly. "Besides, I should check on the Tweedles to make sure they're not breaking the tea table or anything while they're setting things up. It's bad enough they had broken a three-thousand dollar Ming vase."

Hatter raised an eyebrow. "Yes, the Tweedles can be klutzes sometimes. I suppose wards wouldn't hurt. Just in case my friends unknowingly bring along uninvited guests."

Alyce nodded as if to say, "that's exactly what I was thinking," before heading off to do her thing.

Jervis watched her retreat with a small smile before he removed his dark green frock coat and white gloves. He hung his coat on the hat-rack just outside the kitchen, and tucked the gloves into its pockets before rolling up the sleeves on his white dress shirt, and putting an apron on. He couldn't be getting his attire dirty while cooking, after all. It just wouldn't do.

******

Meanwhile, Alyce had gone into the room with the tea table to find Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum hanging bright colored streamers and getting the room tidied up for the party that would start at six o' clock that evening. If anyone showed up, that is. Frankly, Alyce was a bit nervous about meeting Jervis' "friends", particularly the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime was well known for being a notoriously murderous psychopath.

If Jervis was insane, then his insanity is nothing compared to the Clown Prince's. Though she really didn't feel the Hatter was crazy to begin with. Sure, he is eccentric and maybe a bit obsessive-compulsive and delusional, but everybody has his or her quirks. Even Alyce wasn't without eccentricities. Unfortunately, those with heavier quirks who want to be free from societal bonds are often labeled insane. In Alyce's opinion, it's society in general that's crazy.

'_If only Theresa could realize this,'_ Alyce thought with a sigh, leaving the Tweedles to continue what they're doing. _'Perhaps Jervis was right. Maybe Theresa wasn't truly my friend to begin with. I hope she didn't call the cops on us… Though it's not like she knows where we're at right now. Still, better to be safe than sorry, which is why I want to put wards up.'_

Alyce proceeded into her new altar room and retrieved a bag of raw quartz crystals, as well as a couple bottles of oil. Finally, she grabbed her parents' Book of Shadows, which had the spells she needed. She'd looked them up the previous night before going to bed on the couch. Jervis had insisted she take his room until he could get his hands on a foldout sofa, but she had told him she hadn't felt really comfortable in his room the night before. She would rather let him have his bed back. She felt less like she was imposing on him this way.

Once she had everything, she set off to cast the wards around the Hatter's abode. She placed a half-dollar-sized quartz crystal at every entrance and exit, on every windowsill, and in every corner of the building. Along with placing the crystals, she also drew a pentagram next to them with her forefinger using a mix of oils. When done with that, she chanted a series of spells, connecting herself to the wards that would activate should uninvited guests make an appearance. When the spells were finished, a white-blue light erupted from the crystals and began connecting to one another in a web-like fashion. The oil pentagrams also glowed an ethereal blue before the light dissipated, making everything look normal once again.

Alyce smiled wearily. These wards would not only alert her to any intruders, but do damage to said intruders as well. They could tell if the people walking into the place had ill intentions towards both she and Jervis. Feeling dizzy from all the energy she just used, Alyce headed back up to the apartment area, where she found Jervis looking at her in fascination.

"What was that glowing web-like thing?"

"The wards being set," she answered, dragging her feet a little as she walked over to the couch in the living room.

She set her Book of Shadows, the oils, and the empty bag that had held the crystals onto the coffee table before practically falling onto the couch.

Jervis looked at her with concern. "Are you all right, my dear?"

"I'm fine, Jervis. Just really tired. Doing spells like that drain a witch. I need to recharge my energy. Wake me at five o' clock, won't you?" she asked, laying down on the sofa and closing her eyes.

A minute later, she was fast asleep.

******

It was a quarter to five. Jervis was dressed, pressed, and ready to start setting the snacks on the table and getting the tea brewed. Alyce was still sound asleep on the couch, hugging her pillow, and a velour blanket covering her.

'_She looks so peaceful – like a dark-haired angel who's come to help me with my schemes. I wonder what her hair feels like. …Should I?'_

Crouching down beside her, he reached out an ungloved hand, inching it towards her hair slowly. He took a deep breath and let it out carefully as his fingers gently brushed through her hair.

'_So soft…silky, even. I wonder what it smells like…'_

He leaned in and inhaled deeply, almost as if he were savoring a lovely scent he rarely had the pleasure of smelling.

'_Mmm…lilies… I want to touch her skin. I bet it's just as smooth and silky as her hair…'_

Licking his thin, dry lips nervously, he lightly traced a bare finger down her cheek, and then gently across her slightly parted, full pink lips. She stirred a little, but didn't wake. He smiled, cocking his head to the side and looking at her in a mad, daydreaming gaze.

'_No, no, no! Not yet. Not yet…'_

"Obsessing over someone else, I see."

Highly startled, Jervis fell backwards, missing the coffee table by mere centimeters, and landed on his rump. When he looked to the owner of the voice, he saw Jonathan Crane, a.k.a., the Scarecrow, standing at the other end of the couch. His mask was off and a brown eyebrow was raised in intrigue.

"Oh! Hello, Jonathan," Jervis greeted, looking very much like a deer caught in headlights. "My, you're early. _Very_ early. How long have you been standing there? I didn't even hear you come in."

"Long enough. I'm here early because the manner in which you had sent your invitation had me interested. You know very well how much I despise these tea parties of yours, but in this case, I'm glad I decided to put away my plans to come over. Who is she?" the Scarecrow asked, casually helping himself to a seat on one of the breakfast bar stools.

"Alyce," Hatter replied.

"Obviously. I meant what is her _real_ name, Jervis?"

"You should say what you mean, my dear March Hare."

"Do _not_ call me that!"

"Shhh! You'll wake her," Jervis reprimanded, getting up from the floor and giving the sleeping Alyce a warm look.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "She won't wake until you order her to, so why should it matter?"

Jervis looked rightfully offended. "You think I'm controlling her? Haha! No, my dear friend, I am doing no such thing. She's here of her own accord."

Now the Scarecrow looked even more intrigued. "Really now? That's very unlike you. What did you say her real name was?"

"It's Alysyn McArthur. Friends call me Alyce, for short."

It was Alyce who said this, causing both men to look in her direction. Like Jervis, she glanced at the clock, then to the Scarecrow, and furrowed her brow.

"You must be the Scarecrow. You're an hour early," she went on, yawning and stretching like a cat before throwing the blanket off herself and proceeding to fold it neatly.

She placed the blanket on the back of the couch and set the pillow on top of it before groggily walking down the short hall to the bathroom and closing the door. Probably to fix her garb, which was in slight disarray from sleep. Jonathan raised his eyebrow once again.

"Okay, I guess she _isn't_ being controlled. How did you manage to snag her, Tetch?"

"Coincidence, actually. I'll tell you the story once the others arrive."

"Well, can you at least tell me how you sent that invitation?"

"She's a witch," Jervis replied simply.

"A magic-user, huh? Not too many of them here in Gotham. Wait, I think I recognize her name…"

"Yes, my parents were murdered two months ago! I don't want pity!" they heard Alyce yell from inside the bathroom.

Jonathan furrowed his brow. "Well, that possibly explains her path of choice… She doesn't have a love spell or something on you, does she? She seems too…spunky for someone such as yourself."

Jervis cocked his head. He didn't know. Did she have a love spell on him? He didn't think she did, but that didn't mean she didn't. He heard the bathroom door open harshly and Alyce emerged, her attire fixed.

"No, I do _not_ have a love spell on him," she replied snappishly. "I wouldn't do such a thing, either, because they're _not_ true love spells. They're _lust_ spells, and I don't need Jervis throwing himself on me."

"Too late for that, I'm afraid," Jonathan muttered, but apparently Alyce heard him because she gave Jervis a suspicious look.

"What does he mean by that?"

"N-now Alyce. I was simply…_admiring_ you. No need to get frazzled. Besides, you're being rude to our guest. Won't you even say hello?" Jervis answered somewhat nervously.

Alyce turned to the Scarecrow, smiled mock-pleasantly, held out a hand, and said, "Hello, Mr. Crane. Nice to meet you."

Jonathan looked at her hand and smirked, "It's _Professor_ Crane, if you wouldn't mind."

He then turned to Jervis and went on, "Why so _frightened_, Jervis?"

"Probably because he's well aware of what I'm capable of," Alyce replied for Jervis, crossing her arms over her chest and looking indignant.

Crane raised his eyebrows. "Oh, and what _are_ you capable of?"

"Many things," Alyce answered cryptically.

"Why are you so upset, Alyce?" Jervis asked, getting his nerves back.

"Oh, I don't know. Because I was woken up rudely by you two conversing as if I wasn't even in the room! Some consideration might have been in order, you know."

"Hm. Interesting. She doesn't seem to care that you were _obsessing_ over her while she slept, merely annoyed that she was woken rudely, as she put it. Could it be that she finds it erotic? Perhaps she's becoming obsessed with _you_, Jervis," Jonathan said, scratching his chin with intrigue.

"Shut up, Jonathan," Jervis said, blushing crimson.

Alyce blushed deeply as well, and she and Hatter looked at one another for split second before adverting their eyes.

"You know, I also find it fascinating that you're taking in a brunette 'Alice' and not a blonde one," Crane went on as if he didn't hear Jervis' command.

Jervis and Alyce gave him a scathing look, but it was Alyce who said hotly, "Like I told Jervis the night we met, the Alice that Carroll wrote his book for was a brunette, _not_ a blonde."

Crane grinned deviously. "Are you saying that you believe you are _the_ Alice, Miss McArthur?"

"Be careful, Jonathan. Her hexes _hurt_," Jervis said, looking between Alyce and the Scarecrow with slight trepidation.

"I'm not going to hex him," Alyce replied. "And yes, I do believe I _am_ Alyce, because that is my _name_, Professor Crane. And I've always imagined going to Wonderland. At least _here_, I'm not being persecuted for being who and what I am!"

"I see…forgive me, child. I am simply trying to assess your character."

Alyce frowned, but it was Jervis who said, "And you'll get to do so more once the others arrive. Now, since you couldn't _wait_ to be here, do be useful and help the Tweedles put the snacks on the table. Alyce and I need to start getting the tea ready, don't we, my dear?"

"I guess so," Alyce replied, giving him a confused look.

Crane smirked and, while Jervis knew he hated being ordered around, the man did as instructed nonetheless – probably because he had given Alyce a pointed look. Jonathan was being civil towards him, allowing he and his Alyce to be alone until the others showed up. Once he handed Crane a plate of finger sandwiches and a small tray of scones, Jervis told him where the tearoom was, and the man went off, scowling at the neatly placed food items.

After Crane was out of sight, Jervis, his lucidity suddenly gone, turned to Alyce with a look of sheer lust etched into his baby blue eyes. Alyce looked at him nervously, and began to back up a little as he slowly approached her.

"You said that you were beginning to _like_ me yesterday, you know. _Are_ you obsessing over me?" he asked huskily, stopping a few inches from her.

"Well, y-yes, I did, but…no, I am _not_ obsessing over you!"

"But what then, my dear, hmm? I like you, too; otherwise, I would have not allowed you to stay with me."

"I'm not obsessing over _you_. _You're_ obsessing over _me_, according to Crane!"

"Ah, but the good Professor stated that you were also obsessing over me."

"Whatever," Alyce said with a roll of her eyes.

She turned to walk away from him, but he grabbed her by the arm, a bit more roughly than he originally anticipated. Jervis pulled her towards him until their bodies were touching. He was only about two inches taller than she was, so it was quite easy to see into her lovely forest green eyes. They were wide, full of surprise and anger.

"Let go of me," she demanded, her voice choking a little.

"No. I don't want to. Give in. _Relax_. You know you want to feel me. You say you were constantly rejected by society. This must mean you never truly had a man before, am I correct? Let me taste you…"

Before Alyce had a chance to object further, Jervis slammed his lips onto hers. At first, the kiss was hard and unreciprocated, but after a few seconds, he could feel Alyce relax and her lips parted. Jervis groaned as his tongue sought out hers, when suddenly, he was violently pushed backwards. He could see a look of fury and confusion written on Alyce's face before she promptly slapped him. _Hard_. Jervis' head was jerked to the side. He grinned devilishly and held a hand to his stinging cheek, watching her storm out of the apartment and down the stairs.

'_I think she liked it…'_

_

* * *

_

**NOTE:** The party starts next chapter, folks. I wanted to get some other things across before the fun begins, heh.


	8. A Mad Tea Party

**NOTE:** I decided to bump this story's rating up to M due to not only the mild language, but also because of certain innuendos I put in towards the end of this chapter (and last chapter), and for the things I will be putting in future chapters. For "just in case" reasons, you know.

* * *

It was about a quarter to six when the other guests started to arrive. Before this time, Alyce had stormed out of the living space of Hatter's hideout and brooded in her altar area. Many things had been going through her mind until the Hatter had retrieved her by grabbing her hand and practically dragging her to the tea table. One of the things she had thought about, or rather _felt_, was that she had actually _liked_ Jervis' somewhat aggressive attentions. Alyce's current feelings towards the man were confusing her, making her angry and frustrated. This was the only reason she could come up with that made her push away and slap him. They had only met two days ago, and all ready she was feeling _something_ for the Mad Hatter. She couldn't understand why, and it irritated her.

'_People generally don't fall for one another this quick…do they?'_ she asked herself, distantly scanning Jervis' "friends" sitting around the table.

As Alyce's eyes landed upon Jervis, she supposed that he had been kind of right. She never really had a man before. Oh, she had dated and such, but the guys she had dated had been _boys_. They had been immature, naïve, and most of all, _boring_. Jervis was exciting, dangerous, and Alyce found that, for the most part, she enjoyed being around him. He was changing her in ways she felt were good. He was slowly freeing her, and she liked it.

'_Maybe I should just take Jervis' advice and relax. Have fun, and go with the flow. There's no point in denying that I like him – that I'm attracted to him. It's almost like I'm living out a fantasy. I'm receiving attention that I've dreamed about, but am far from used to…'_

"She's really quiet, Jervis. What did you do to her?" Alyce heard someone ask through her haze of thoughts and feelings.

A purple-gloved hand slowly waved in front of her, and when she looked towards its owner, she found the Riddler staring at her intently. In fact, everyone except Jervis was staring at her as if they were unsure what to expect.

"I did nothing to her, Edward," Jervis replied, his cheeks flushing a little.

Crane gave him a look. "I'm sure you didn't. You only wanted me to help put things on the table so you could be _alone_ with her. Also, your cheek's all red, so you must have done _something_."

"You didn't put one of your controlling devices on her, did you?" Poison Ivy asked, crossing her arms over her ample chest and glaring at Jervis. "Because that is no way to win a woman's heart. I'd have thought you'd have learned this by now."

"Oh, I don't know," the Joker chimed in with a large grin on his chalk-white face. "Some women _like_ to be controlled. Right, Harley?"

Harley, looking kind of unsure, replied, "Uh…sure, Mistah J! Whateva you say."

Ivy looked like she wanted to kill the Joker. Alyce, her thoughts about Jervis and where her feelings stand momentarily forgotten, frowned.

"I am _not_ being controlled. Just in the midst of some heavy thinking. I apologize for my rudeness," Alyce said, glancing at the Hatter and smiling a little.

Jervis gave her a half-apologetic, lopsided grin in return. Apparently, he had his head back for the time being.

"She speaks!" the Joker exclaimed. "So, tell us how you guys met."

"We shall, Joker," Jervis said. "But first, let's pour some tea, shall we?"

He went to stand up and grab one of the two pots on the table, when Alyce put a gentle hand on his wrist, stopping him.

"Allow me, Jervis," she said with a wink.

"Alright…if you insist…" he replied, looking at her with a bit of confusion.

Jervis sat back down slowly and gestured for her to go ahead and serve the tea. Standing from her place at the head of the table, she opened her arms wide as if to envelope everyone in a hug. Her right arm nearly hit the Riddler in the head.

"Sorry, Mr. Nygma," she said quickly before looking back at the table.

"Quite all right," the Riddler said, giving her a curious look.

In fact, all the Rogues, including Jervis, were giving her a curious look as they waited to see what she was going to do. She grinned mischievously.

'_They're going to love this,'_ she thought as she concentrated on the two teapots, the bowl of sugar cubes, the dish of cream, and the plates of assorted food dotted about the table.

With an elaborate wave of her hands, she ordered cheerily, "Okay, everyone, you know what your jobs are. Let's get to it!"

Alyce sat back down, and as soon as she did, the bowl of sugar cubes sprung to life, hopping from side to side down the table until it ran into one of the teapots. The teapot turned to the sugar bowl, and seemed to look down its spout in an annoyed fashion.

"Sugar bowl!" Alyce scolded, slapping her hand upon the table and glaring at it. "It's not your turn yet. Be patient, will you?!"

Everyone stared at her with open mouths.

"What? This is how my parents and I often had tea…" Alyce said as if this were a perfectly ordinary thing. "Would you rather serve yourselves, or have the Tweedles serve you?"

Jervis looked at her with an "I think I'm in love" look, and the Joker began laughing hysterically.

"That's too rich! I knew taking time out of my plans to thwart the Bat would be worth it. Hahahaha! This new 'friend' of yours is great! Welcome to the club, girlie! Hahahaha!"

'_Okay, so the Joker isn't that bad…so far, at least,'_ Alyce thought, grinning.

"That's so cool!" Harley exclaimed. "What other tricks do ya have up yer sleeve?"

"Many."

"Well, I knew the way in which Tetch sent his invitation was a mystery, and now it seems to be solved," Riddler commented, looking intrigued. "Now the question is…what does a witch want with the Mad Hatter? Or, better yet…what does the Mad Hatter want with a witch?"

"Yes, I was wondering that myself, Edward," the Scarecrow added. "Do tell us a story, Miss McArthur."

After Crane said this, the nearest teapot hobbled over and tipped itself to pour a cup of Oolong for Jervis. After it was done, it hobbled over to Alyce, poured her a cup, and continued around the table to give everyone else one.

"Alright... Sugar, please," Alyce said, looking at the sugar bowl.

The sugar bowl hopped giddily over to her cup and, to everyone's fascination, used its handles to grab the tongs before proceeding to put the sugar cubes it held into her cup of tea.

"McArthur…now where have I heard that name?" Ivy asked, more to herself than anyone.

Alyce sighed. "Okay, before we tell you how we met, I suppose I should tell you all who I am. My name is Alysyn McArthur. Friends call me Alyce, for short. I was mentioned on the news about two months ago because my parents were burned at the stake by a Congregationalist community in western Pennsylvania."

"Yes, that's it. I knew I recognized your last name," Ivy said. "I'm sorry to hear about that."

"Thank you, but I don't want pity," Alyce replied, giving the plant-lady an adamant look. "I don't want revenge, either. It'd be a waste of my time and energy and probably wouldn't make me feel any better."

"But revenge is fun," the Scarecrow said. "At least the people who persecuted your parents wouldn't be able to persecute anybody else."

"Heh, Crane has a point there," Riddler added. "But, I also see where you're coming from. It's why I've turned my attentions elsewhere."

"I agree with Nygma. Revenge is so _droll_," Joker chimed in. "Now anarchy and chaos…that's fun!"

Harley giggled. "Yeah! What's life if you don't live a little, ya know?"

"That's it," Alyce replied. "All I want to do is be free. To use my magic openly and however I wish. I've never really been able to do that in normal society, and now that I'm no longer a part of it, I'm having fun. I was never really a part of normal society to begin with, as a matter of fact."

She went to grab her cup of tea, but saw that the sugar bowl hadn't stopped dropping cubes into it. There was now a leaning tower of sugar cubes in her cup.

"When, you idiot, when!" she exclaimed, giving the bowl a stern glare.

The sugar bowl jumped, startled, and hurried off to anyone else that might want sugar.

"Sorry, the sugar bowl always gets excited. Just tell it 'when' when you want it to stop."

She eyed the towering sugar cubes, sighed, and removed most of them from her teacup. The Joker and Harley broke out into a fit of giggles.

"If anyone needs sugar, I've got plenty," Alyce added, giggling a little herself.

Crane raised an eyebrow. "Well, it seems like you'll fit in with us just fine. If I might be so bold…you're not quite all there. Most people are _afraid_ of us. You, on the other hand, are not."

"_Ahem_. Shall we tell them how exactly we met, my dear Alyce?" Jervis asked, seeing the narrowed look she had given the Scarecrow.

"Yes, sorry. I got off-track there."

"It's quite all right," Hatter told Alyce before taking a sip of his tea and addressing the guests. "It all began with the twinkling of the antiques. I wanted to procure some cash without using my devices so I could throw off the Jabberwocky. I chose a quaint little antique shop near Chinatown. I figured I could sell these items on the Black Market via the Penguin or some other smuggler. It was after the shop had closed, and I hadn't realized the assistant manager was still there…"

"Right," Alyce chimed in. "I'd heard a loud crash and when I saw who it was, I decided to try and scare him a little. I figured if I used my abilities to take the Hatter out, maybe people would be more open to having magic-users living amongst them. Anyway, once he realized who I was and what I could do, he decided to make a deal with me. Since I was tired of how life was treating me, I figured, why not? I have nothing to lose. Our agreement was that, if I helped him, he would show me Wonderland. So far, he's doing a fine job, and I like it."

"So you just quit your job to go running off with Jervis?" Riddler asked, grabbing a ham finger sandwich from the plate that had grown legs and walked over to him.

He eyed it warily before turning his attention back to Alyce for an answer.

"Not exactly. I had actually put my two weeks in that night, and ended up getting fired for 'offending' the old man," Alyce answered, appearing as though this fact still annoyed her. "See, there was this jackass maintenance guy that kept bothering me. I didn't want to hex him because, at the time, I didn't want anyone that didn't already know finding out what I am. Anyway, Harper wouldn't fire the jackass, so I told him I was done. He told me not to come back the next day, so essentially, I was fired before I had a chance to work my last two weeks out."

Crane looked at her thoughtfully. "It sounds like your life has taken a turn like most of ours has. Society and individual people have sneered at you and your family because you're different – because you're _you_. Because some of them have even treated you in ways you felt were _wrong_. Now, you're ready to sneer back at society while being all that you truly are."

"I concur!" Harley exclaimed cheerily.

At first, Alyce gave the clown lady an odd look, but then remembered that Miss Quinn had once been a doctor at Arkham. She was glad she watched the news as often as possible. At least she knew a little bit about these guys' backgrounds. Enough to remind Alyce that they were once normal people, too. Well, everyone had been except the Joker. Not much was known about his past; though she did vaguely recall something about him being a part of some mob before becoming the Clown Prince of Crime.

"The fact that you made a deal with Jervis indicates to me that he must have had some intriguing affect on you," the Scarecrow went on, obviously still assessing her. "Jervis told me that you had your unique 'Alice' dress before you two met, which tells me that you must like Alice in Wonderland. Is this correct?"

Alyce was almost speechless.

'_This guy's good,'_ she thought, before answering out loud, "Yes, actually, I _do_ like Alice in Wonderland. It was one of my favorite books while growing up. It helped get me through the rougher days."

Crane smirked. "So is it safe to assume that you imagined yourself as Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, having tea with the Mad Hatter and March Hare, playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts, and so on?"

All of the Rogues looked at Alyce curiously as if hanging on every word of she and Crane's discussion. Jervis, in particular, appeared even more interested than the rest, as his arms were resting upon the table, and he was glancing almost excitedly back and forth between the two of them.

Alyce was now beginning to get a bit uncomfortable. She didn't want to answer the question because the ex-professor of psychology was perhaps _too_ good. She was afraid that if she divulged what she considered to be private things, these people could turn around and use them to their advantage.

'_Now I know why they call Jonathan Crane the Master of Fear…'_ Alyce thought. _'Well, I need to say something; otherwise, everyone will get uncomfortable, and that's not fun. Perhaps if I just hint at things, he'll catch on and leave that part about me alone…'_

"Um…well, I…" she stammered, not knowing how to answer.

Then, she said the only logical thing she could think of. "I cannot explain myself, because I'm not myself, you see."

Crane smirked deviously. Jervis stared at her as if he couldn't believe her to be true. The Riddler looked at her intriguingly, like she was a puzzle that he wanted to indirectly solve. Ivy just scrutinized her with a small grin, and Harley sighed.

"That's so romantic! I'm happy you finally found your Alice, Jervis," Quinn said dreamily, leaning an elbow on the table with her white cheek in her hand.

Joker started laughing. "She's just as crazy as we are! This is too good! Well, done, Tetch! Now you just need to see how well she performs. As a henchwench, of course."

The Clown Prince of Crime winked at Jervis after he said this last part. Both Hatter and Alyce were blushing furiously from embarrassment.

Thankfully, after a moment, Jervis said, "Suppose we change the subject…"

One of the teapots hopped over to him and poured another cup of tea.

"Thank you," Jervis said to it before taking a generous sip.

The pot bowed a little before going over to refill Alyce's.

"Since you like Alice in Wonderland," Riddler began. "Maybe you can answer the riddle the Mad Hatter put to Alice?"

"She's already given me an answer for it, Edward," Jervis answered for Alyce.

"That's fine, Jervis, but I'd like her to answer it for _me_, if you wouldn't mind. I'm curious if she has one. Why is a raven like a writing desk, Miss McArthur?"

"Because they'll both drive you to madness," Alyce answered surely with a grin.

Riddler chortled. "That's what my answer was as well! She gets it!"

Jervis frowned and muttered, "She answered it for me first."

******

The tea party lasted for well over two hours, as everyone got know each other a little better. Alyce found that she liked just about everyone. She still wasn't too sure about the Joker. There were a few times where he'd said some not-so-funny things, and after a while, she thought him slightly annoying. Harley was okay, if a little too bubbly for Alyce's tastes. Ivy, or Pamela, as she allowed Alyce to call her after discussing various plants with magical properties, was awesome, in her opinion. Pamela said that she would help supply Alyce with these magical plants, as well as possibly create some hybrids for her. Of course, Alyce promised to cloak her hideouts from prying eyes in exchange for this. It was a win-win deal. Alyce would get the plants she needed for brewing potions and other magical things, and Poison Ivy would have her lairs magically hidden from invaders.

Neither Crane nor the Riddler had said or asked much more after Jervis voted to change the subject, to which Alyce was kind of thankful. Crane was right on with his little analyses of her, and it kind of bothered her. Jervis seemed to look at her in a different way since then, often giving her warm smiles both with his grin and with his sky blue eyes. This had made her blush several times throughout the evening, and she wondered what in the world had gotten into her. She'd heard of going out and having a good time, but crushing on someone this early on? She needed to consult some things, and to do that; she needed to go back to her apartment. Not tonight though. Tonight she needed to speak with Jervis. Clear something up with him before either of them moved further.

Alyce put the teacups into the sink and began washing them. She kind of felt guilty for slapping him earlier, so she offered to help him clean up. Jervis was silently putting the leftover food into containers and Ziploc bags when she decided she should say something.

"I had fun tonight, Jervis. Thank you."

Jervis looked up from the scones he finished putting into a container and smiled at her.

"Yes, well…I suppose I was little…pushy earlier. But, I still think you enjoyed it," he replied, his smile turning slightly mischievous.

Alyce blushed for the umpteenth time that evening. "Okay, I admit that I did…a little. It's just…we've only just met. Don't you think we should see how well we get on in the field? Like Joker said? I mean I don't want this to be just a short fling…"

She blushed even deeper as she left the last part of her speech hang. Alyce had had her flings in the past. While they had been fun, she was looking for something more – a connection. So far, she was connecting rather well with the Hatter, and she wanted to make sure that he was for real. She didn't want to end up being hurt.

Jervis cocked his head, that damn cute grin still plastered on his features. "Are you saying that as long as I don't push my affections on you too strongly, you're willing to give us a chance?"

Wiping her hands on a towel, Alyce turned to him with a flustered expression, "Maybe…yes."

"Then, my dear, how shall we seal this pact?" he asked, slowly approaching her.

She didn't move this time.

"Um…" Alyce began, her mind not functioning properly at the moment. "I…I don't know, um…"

"How about," he said, putting his hands on the counter on either side of Alyce's waist.

She gulped nervously as he leaned in so that they were mere inches apart.

"We go out on the town in a few nights? Perhaps after we create that new device I mentioned yesterday? I feel we'll have such fun!"

There was a strange glint in his eyes, but this time, it was different. It wasn't the dangerous glint she had witnessed at her apartment, but a look that Alyce couldn't quite explain. The only way she could describe it was as being the most charming look she'd ever seen on a guy.

'_Breathe, Alyce. Just breathe…'_

"Uh, yes…it does sound like fun… But, um…I need to go back to my apartment to take care of some things first. Take care of some loose ends…" she said, breathing slowly so as to keep her head.

"And when do you want to go?" Jervis asked, sounding just a bit put-off.

"Tomorrow," she replied, adding quickly, "I'll be back before nightfall. I promise. I just need to make sure my old life is completely put behind me before I move on to my new one."

Jervis scrutinized her for a moment, and then said, "Very well. If you must, you may borrow my van to gather whatever else you may need from your old abode. I am trusting you to return by dusk."

Alyce nodded. "Thank you, Jervis."

He looked at her intently for a few more long moments before slowly backing off and walking out of the kitchen. Alyce watched him disappear down the stairs leading up to the apartment and head off to somewhere else in the factory. She stood there for a minute, trying to fathom why she even felt she needed his permission to leave.

'_It's because he's so damn manipulative – subtly so, and very good at it. He's found my quirks with Crane's help, and somehow, he knows how to get me to do what he wants without using any of his devices on me! What's more is that I find this so damn hot that's it's not even funny!'_

With a frustrated huff, Alyce finished cleaning the teacups, saucers, and other tableware – including the things she had enchanted earlier. She'd taken the spell off the moment everyone had left, leaving the items mundane and static once more. Tomorrow, Alyce would finish gathering things from her apartment, tell the landlord she found a new place, and be done with her old, humdrum life. Tomorrow would be the beginning of an end.


	9. A Fight and the Jabberwocky

Late the following morning, Alyce had dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt to avoid suspicion, and had taken Jervis' stolen van to her apartment complex. She had unlocked her apartment, and then stopped by the landlord's apartment to turn in her key. Alyce told the landlord that she'd found another place and that she would be packing up the rest of her belongings that day. She didn't bother to mention that she would be leaving all of her furniture and appliances behind, since she was sure it wouldn't be a problem. After all, those items could help the next person who took up residence there. All Alyce was grabbing was the rest of her personal items. These items included pictures, regular reading books, her MP3 player, and more of her clothes.

Alyce used four medium-sized boxes taken from the hideout, and it had taken her well into the late afternoon before she was done sorting through everything and putting the boxes into the van. It was when she was going back to get the last box – her box of clothes – when she ran into a tank top, stonewashed blue-jean wearing Theresa.

"Hello, Alyce. Moving out?" the black-haired woman asked mock-pleasantly.

They were in the alley where the van was parked. Apparently, Theresa had either seen or heard Alyce in her apartment and decided to follow her.

"Hello, Theresa," Alyce replied, her green eyes narrowed a little and her voice clipped with slight anger. "Yes, I am moving out, if you must know. I told you I was serious about doing this."

Theresa smirked. "I know. That's why I had to call the police the other day."

Alyce turned her mouth up in fury. "How could you? I thought you were my _friend_, Theresa. Friends don't turn each other in!"

"Because, Alyce, you want to use your abilities to hurt people. I can sense it."

Alyce's fists were clenched tightly at her sides, and she was looking at Theresa with both hatred and hurt.

"If you were truly my friend, you would understand why I _have_ to do this!"

"Alyce," Theresa said sadly, her arms crossed. "You don't want people to persecute you for what you are, yet you're about to go and use your abilities openly to gain your own ends – to hurt people. You will be putting an even bigger bad name on your fellow magic-users if you follow through with this. Why can't you understand _that_? How do you think your _parents_ would feel about your path?"

Alyce's look of rage instantly turned somber at Theresa's words. How _would_ her parents feel? Would they still love her, despite her path of choice? Would they still respect her? Would they feel disappointed, let down by their daughter for joining the more…unscrupulous part of society? A part of Alyce wanted to believe they would be proud of her for following her heart. Why shouldn't they be? They had told her, when she moved to Gotham, that they hoped that whatever she decided to do, it would make her happy. Joining Jervis' crusade to make Gotham a true Wonderland was doing just that, and Alyce didn't feel that her parents would condemn her for it.

She glared at Theresa with renewed anger, and said lowly, "How dare you try and use my deceased parents as a tool to get to me. The Queen has ordered OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

With this last statement, Alyce waved her right arm. A fireball emerged from her outstretched palm, and she hurled it towards the surprised Theresa. The black-haired woman ducked, narrowly missing the attack.

"You know you're proving me right," Theresa said, standing back up and assuming a fighting stance.

Alyce snarled. "Yeah?! Well, _some_ people deserve to be hurt! Like _you_!"

Theresa sneered back and thrust her hands forward. A powerful, invisible force pushed Alyce, knocking her into the van and making it rock with the impact. She fell to the pavement, clutching at her back where it'd hit on the hood. After a moment, Alyce slowly rose to a half-crouch and glared diabolically at her ex-friend.

"You want to play rough, huh? Good. I could use the practice," Alyce said before closing her eyes and breathing in deep.

The moment she did so, she appeared directly behind Theresa in the blink of an eye. She grabbed the woman's shoulder, and as she did, gave her a few thousand volts in the process. This only lasted for half a second before Theresa managed to counter-attack with her own magical lightning. When the powers collided, it caused a small shockwave that blew out all of the nearby windows, including the ones in the van. Streetlights flickered and the two women staggered back from each other several feet.

Alyce, recovering quicker than her adversary, opened her arms wide. The glass that had fallen to the ground rose up and slowly swirled around her. Alyce trembled a little as she held it there, then swung her arms forward. The glass, now deadly projectiles, flew towards Theresa, who had her back against the building opposite the apartment complex.

The black-haired woman's eyes became wide before she ducked and moved her left arm in a wide circular motion. A blue-gray bubble formed around Theresa, safely keeping most of the glass from impaling her. Though some of the pieces had managed to penetrate the shield, giving Theresa a few minor cuts in the process. The woman hissed in pain. Once the glass projectiles were done flying at her, Theresa lowered her shield and moved her right arm in a slashing motion. Alyce cried out in pain, clutching her left shoulder. When she removed her hand, she ground her teeth at the sight of a large gash that started to bleed profusely.

She glared at Theresa and screamed with infuriation, "You talk about me hurting people, yet you don't seem to have a problem using a cutting hex on me!"

"You started this, Alyce! You attacked me first! I'm not about to let you kill me just because you're angry with me!" Theresa yelled back.

The two women glowered at each other for several seconds, until Alyce heard what sounded like giant wings fluttering overhead. When she looked up, she saw the shape of a large bat gliding across the building's rooftops in the fading light of the sun.

'_Bats don't glide, nor are they that big…'_ she thought with a frown before she was caught off-guard by one of Theresa's magical projectiles.

Alyce barely managed to move out of the way, and when she did, she stumbled, falling face-first into the concrete and the tiny pieces of glass that she hadn't grabbed with her magic. The pieces penetrated her right cheek. She cried out painfully. Luckily, these pieces weren't big enough to do any major damage, but they hurt nonetheless. Alyce could feel blood begin to trickle down her face as she slowly stood back up. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she knew that she would not only have to pick out the glass, but also would be sporting a bruised right side of her face by tomorrow.

She faced Theresa, who said with a hint of revelation in her voice, "I think I now understand why you're taking the path that you are, Alyce. It _does_ feel good to use my magic openly. _However_, I will not allow you to bring harm to our fellow witches. If people begin persecuting others of our kind because of your actions, I will do all I can to bring you down."

Tears of hatred and pain streaming down her face, Alyce replied turbulently, "If that happens, then we'll cross that bridge… So, Theresa, where does this leave _us_ at the present time?"

"I'm not sure," Theresa answered, taking up a fighting position once more.

Alyce narrowed her eyes. It appeared that Theresa, who was once her best friend, had truly turned against her. Before her friend turned adversary could muster up another spell to use on her, Alyce reached out with her right arm and felt for the energy surrounding Theresa's neck. She quickly found it, grinned devilishly, and squeezed. Theresa was lifted off the ground several inches. She kicked her black-booted feet as she put her hands to her throat, trying to break Alyce's telekinetic hold. It was to no avail, though, and soon, she was slammed hard against the brick building. Alyce released the energy and let Theresa fall to the pavement.

Alyce then fell to her knees, her energy nearly drained. She breathed deeply for a few long moments before staggering back up to her feet. Just as she was about to walk over to the van and drive off, a large black shadow dropped down beside Theresa. The shadow reached out with a black-gloved hand and felt for the woman's pulse before standing and turning towards Alyce, whose eyes widened in slight fear.

"The Jabberwocky!" she exclaimed, taking a few steps back.

"McArthur. I knew you'd come back here sooner or later. You're coming with me," Batman said in a dark, gravelly voice.

She glanced behind the Dark Knight. "I didn't kill her, did I?"

Batman grunted. "She's alive, fortunately."

"Good, because I didn't want to kill her. She just got in my way," Alyce said, leaning heavily against the van.

"Where's the Hatter?" the Jabberwocky demanded, cautiously inching towards her.

"In Wonderland," Alyce answered as if it were obvious.

Batman narrowed his eyes, and before he could do or say anything else, Ayce unleashed a blinding display of white-blue fireworks into his face. Quickly, she opened up the driver's side door of the van, swiped her hand over the seat to remove the leftover glass, and started the engine. She saw Batman staggering around and shaking his head every few seconds, trying to regain his sight. Alyce smiled maniacally, put the van in gear, and sped off into the night.

******

Batman heard the van's tires squeal as it exited the alley, but couldn't follow. His vision was still trying to re-adjust itself after the blinding, sparkling lights McArthur had produced. He'd dealt with magic-users in the past – Klarion the Witch-Boy, the Demon Etrigan, his host, Jason Blood, and Zatanna, to name a few. He didn't like it. Batman was all about scientific reason, and magic went far beyond that reason. It wasn't something he completely understood. Jason Blood had helped him defeat Klarion, and if it hadn't been for his help, the Dark Knight probably would have been no more. Now, there were more magic-users in Gotham that he had to deal with. The question was why McArthur chose to work with the Mad Hatter.

After blinking several more times, his vision finally began to clear, albeit with white spots dotting it here and there. Batman made his way over to Theresa lying on the pavement and kneeled down beside her. He produced some smelling salts from his utility belt, uncorked the bottle, and slowly moved it back and forth under the black-haired woman's nose. A few seconds later, she slowly stirred, coughing as she came fully to.

"Miss Bonham? Are you all right?" Batman asked in his gravelly voice.

"Uhnnn…I…I think so…" she said uncertainly, moving a hand to the back of her head where it'd hit the brick wall.

When she saw who was speaking to her, she gasped.

"Batman? Wha-what happened? Where's Alyce? And how do you know my name?"

"She blinded me and got away. I've been staking out your apartment building every night since you called the police, Miss Bonham. Gordon told me who you are, though I wasn't expecting you to be a witch as well," Batman replied.

Theresa sighed, "Yeah, well most of us magic-users try to be inconspicuous. I tried to stop her, you know."

"I know. Can you tell me where McArthur went?"

"No. I didn't ask, and I don't think she would have told me anyway. We're not exactly friends anymore, as I'm sure you can guess," Theresa answered bitterly.

Batman grunted. "If McArthur is really working with the Hatter, then Gotham has a big problem."

"Why didn't you jump into the fight earlier? You could have helped," Theresa asked, giving the vigilante a look.

The Dark Knight didn't answer for a several moments, and then, "I needed to fully assess the situation. Once McArthur had knocked you out, I noticed that she seemed weak, and that's when I chose to make my presence known."

"Oh," was all Theresa said, furrowing her brow.

She seemed to understand, to which Batman was thankful for. What he said was true. He had watched the fight from above until the opportune moment. He sighed irritably, berating himself for not throwing a well placed bat-a-rang at McArthur from the start. Though she had appeared weak, and Batman didn't think she had enough energy left to do anything else. He had also wanted to try and speak to her – try to reason with her. The death of her parents had obviously driven her down a dark path. It was the complete opposite for him, as he took his parents' deaths and turned it into something positive, protecting those who needed protecting. Perhaps it wasn't too late for McArthur to turn back.

"Do you know why McArthur chose to work with the Hatter?" Batman asked, standing and helping Theresa to her feet.

She swayed woozily for a moment and leaned against the wall.

She shut her eyes painfully, before she answered, "She said that they had made an agreement. Hatter had showed up at Harper's Antiques looking to steal some of the items there, when Alyce confronted him. She told me that her intentions were to take him down, but he struck a deal with her. She claimed that he could show her the road to freedom, which she had been speaking about for months – especially after her parents died."

Theresa paused, then, "Batman? I know Alyce. I know her quirks. She's as big of a Lewis Carroll nut as the Mad Hatter. She's also a powerful witch. You'll need more than your fancy gadgets to take her down."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "I'll find a way. In the meantime, you should see a doctor. You might have a slight concussion from that blow to your head. Take care, Miss Bonham, and let me handle McArthur from now on."

With that, Batman fired his grappling-gun into the air. Once he felt the line go taught, he pushed a button on the gun and rose quickly into the night sky, leaving Theresa staring after him.

******

Jervis paced the area in front of his workstation heatedly. It was nighttime, and he had been expecting Alyce to return by no later than dusk.

"Where is she?!" he yelled to the empty space, his odd, English-accented voice echoing off the stone walls.

Many things had gone through his head since the previous night and throughout the day. Alyce had basically told him that, if he controlled himself, she would give them a chance. That meant that she wanted to be more than just business partners. This fact had floored him a little since it wasn't often he had a woman interested in him romantically. She had also brought up a good point of them hardly knowing each other. So why was he so stricken with her? Could it be that they were meant to be together? Was it fate? And why was he so worried about where she was? She hadn't taken any of her occult items, nor her "Alice" garb, so he knew that she would be back. He didn't think a witch would permanently abandon their altar.

Just as he turned to do another pacing lap, he heard the sound of a vehicle pull into the parking lot outside. Making sure his Colt 45 pistol was tucked securely into his pants waistband, he made his way to the small door beside the loading area, and peered out the tiny glass window. He saw Alyce stumble out of the van, which was missing all of its windows and rearview mirrors. Jervis furrowed his brow, and frowned deeply. Something had happened to her.

Throwing open the door, he walked briskly over to Alyce, who took one step, looked at him pitifully, and fell forward. Even though he was shocked, he caught her just in time. He then picked her up and carried her back inside. As he looked down at her half-dazed form, he noticed that the right side of her face had been impaled with tiny fragments of broken glass. Drying blood was everywhere, and her left shoulder was sporting a large, deep cut, which he guessed was the reason she was so out of it. She was paler than usual, and he came to the conclusion that she'd lost a lot of blood. How she had managed to drive back here, he didn't know.

"What happened to you, Alyce?" he asked softly, quickly taking her up to the apartment area of the hideout and lying her down on the couch.

Alyce, her green eyes fluttering wildly, answered incoherently, "Not my friend. Didn't understand. Jabberwocky! Potion! Need potion."

She was breathing heavily, almost as if she were delirious. Jervis, not knowing exactly what to do, began to panic a little.

"No, no, no! Stay with me, Alyce! Please, where are your potions?"

"Altar…"

'_Of course! Duh!'_ he thought, smacking his forehead.

He took off at a near run, descending the stairs nearly two at a time and almost falling when he reached the bottom. Jervis gathered himself quickly, though, and darted for Alyce's altar room. Once inside, he flung open cabinet and desk drawers until he found the little bottle of green liquid he was looking for. Grasping it firmly, he bolted back up the stairs and uncorked the phial. Carefully, he reached behind Alyce's head and lifted it up so he could administer the healing draught.

She took it, and after swallowing, coughed a little. Jervis looked at her worriedly. They had just met and acknowledged that they liked one another. She couldn't leave him now! Thinking fast, Jervis removed his coat, gloves, and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. He darted into the bathroom and retrieved a pair of tweezers. Then, he went into the kitchen, got a bowl of lukewarm water and a clean washcloth before going back into the living room to tend to Alyce's wounds. He wasn't sure how well the healing draught would work on injuries of this nature. When she had given it to him, he hadn't had anything major to heal. Just some aches and distorted thoughts. Alyce had a large cut on her shoulder and some glass stuck in her cheek.

Pulling up the single ottoman in the room, he sat down and began carefully removing the pieces of broken glass from her delicate face. Luckily, there weren't too many pieces, and they weren't stuck in too deep to where he couldn't get them without accidentally lodging them further into her skin. After gently pulling out the last of the glass, he set the tweezers down and wrung out the washcloth. When he turned back to clean up the wounds, he saw them slowly beginning to close up, pushing smaller glass particles that he hadn't seen out in the process.

'_That's some potion,'_ he thought, astonished for a split-second.

Even though her wounds were closing, the drying blood was still there, so he proceeded to lightly wipe her features clean. Jervis also noticed that her breathing stabilized and that the wound on her shoulder was also beginning to close, although significantly slower than the cuts on her face were. He frowned deeply, a look of infuriation etched into his blue eyes.

'_Whoever hurt my Alyce will pay dearly…'_

"Uhnn…" Alyce whimpered, shifting a little. "Jervis?"

Jervis stopped attending her for a moment to look in her eyes, which had stopped fluttering and were now looking at him with warmth and gratefulness.

"Yes, it's me, Alyce. How are you feeling? What happened?" Jervis asked, still frowning.

"T-Theresa," she answered, tears threatening to fall. "S-she confronted me as I was going back into the apartment to get the last box of my stuff. W-we fought…with magic. Then the Jabberwocky appeared…"

'_I knew that so-called friend of hers was trouble. And Batman?! She got away from __**Batman**__?!'_

"The Jabberwocky didn't follow you here, did he?" Jervis asked, more tersely than he wanted to.

"No…I blinded him before I took off…after I managed to knock Theresa out," she answered, giving him a nervous look.

Jervis looked into her eyes intently for a moment, and then said, "I believe you. If he had followed you here, he would have shown himself by now."

He sighed heavily, and continued gently wiping the blood off her face and neck before he went on, "You had me worried, you know."

"I-I did?" she asked as if she couldn't believe it.

"Yes, you did. Especially when you showed up here late and heavily injured. I'll admit I panicked a little," he replied, blushing.

Alyce smiled softly. "Thank you, Jervis. You're the only one who seems to care about me anymore."

Jervis nearly dropped the washcloth with this statement. While the wording was different, it was almost the exact same thing he'd told his ex-secretary over two years ago, before he'd gone down the rabbit hole. He had told Miss Pleasance that sometimes, she was the only one who understood him. This was far from the truth, as Alyce had proved rapidly to him in the past few days. She understood him far better than Miss Pleasance ever did, and ever could.

'_Alyce and I __**must**__ be meant for each other! There's no other way to explain it.'_

"The Queen will have new head trophies soon. Mary-Ann and the Jabberwocky will be snicker-snacked! No one hurts _my_ Alyce and lives to tell the tale!"


	10. Making Love and Robbery

**NOTE:** I thought it was best to explain something to people who think that Alyce's and Jervis' relationship might be moving a little fast. I know those people are out there. I'm going to tell you all a small, real life story.

Three years ago (summer of 2006), I met my fiancée, David. We were in each other's arms within _a week_ of meeting. A _month_ later, we officially became a couple. Six months later, we moved in together, and just this year, he asked me to marry him. We're getting married next year at the place we met – the Great Lakes Medieval Faire.

So, for those who think that the romantic relationship between Alyce and Jervis is moving "unrealistically" fast, I have news for you. It happens. Some people just click naturally, and a romance blossoms very rapidly. Sorry, but I know there's people probably reading this story (mostly the non-reviewers, mind you) who are going, "This story is unrealistic. They're falling for each other unnaturally fast." That's why I just told you my entire real life romance story. Maybe it will make people see that relationships can and do happen quickly for some people.

Okay, now that I'm done being in a mood, here's chapter 10. _**Be warned! This chapter has a smut scene!**_ It's pretty tasteful, though. Enjoy! =D

* * *

"How's your shoulder, Alyce?" Jervis asked from his workstation.

"Tight," Alyce replied, rolling her left shoulder a little and sitting down next to him.

_One week_ had gone by since Alyce had gotten into the fight with Theresa. The healing draught had done its job by closing up the wounds, but a scar still remained on her shoulder from the magical cut she'd sustained. A few, very light scars also remained on her right cheek from the glass that had been impaled into it. They were only visible if one got close enough and actually looked for them, though. Healing draughts could only do so much.

Jervis frowned, and Alyce went on, "Don't worry, I'll be fine, Jervis. How are your new devices coming?"

"Good. Frabjously good. I just need to add a few more parts, and they will be ready for you to work your magic," Jervis replied with a grin.

During the past week, Jervis had been diligently working on his new controlling/memory-erasing devices. Alyce had been researching spells and ways she could imbue the devices with magic to where they acted sort of like an amulet for the wearer, giving them a single magical ability to use. Also during the past week, Jervis and Alyce had grown quite comfortable around each other. They had found out things about the other that one would only tell to someone they trusted. For instance, Jervis had divulged that his parents still wrote to him and that they blamed themselves for his downfall*. This seemed to have comforted Alyce a little, and she explained that she didn't think her parents would have neither blamed themselves or her for the path she's taking. Things happen for a reason, she had told him, so there was a reason they had gone down the path they had. There was a reason for their "madness".

Another thing they shared was how they both always used to pretend to be their respective characters in Wonderland while reading the book in order to get away from the throes of reality. Yet another thing was how they had both been made fun of by their school peers and were told to go back to Wonderland where they belonged. This made Jervis realize even more that they were truly meant to be. Miss Pleasance had been a lusty, child-like crush, which he'd realized after a year of being in Arkham. If Pleasance had truly been his "Alice", then she wouldn't have rejected him, and he wouldn't have needed to turn her into his puppet. Alyce was the complete opposite. She _willingly_ joined his dance and actually _understood_ him. Alysyn _is_ Alice, in his eyes.

Alyce smiled at Jervis in return and almost hesitantly moved a strand of his bright red hair out of his blue eyes. He stared warmly at her when she did this, and his breath caught in his throat. She'd been doing small, flirtatious things like this since the night she'd fought Theresa. Jervis hadn't aggressively come on to her since the night of the tea party, to which he was proud of himself for. Although, there were times he'd wanted to. Oh how he'd wanted to. But, he had controlled himself for the sake of wanting to keep her – to keep her trust. Without trust, there would be no relationship, and Jervis wanted – no, _needed_ that special connection between two people. He'd yearned for it nearly all of his lonely life. Though if she kept up her flirtatiousness, he feared he could lose control again at any moment.

"You're a good-looking man, you know that, Jervis?" Alyce said, breaking him out of his reveries. "And sometimes I think you work too hard. It'll only make you older faster."

Jervis blushed crimson. "Ah, my dear, I doubt I'll ever grow old. I'll always be young at heart."

Alyce giggled. "Yeah, me too, I think. You're my White Knight, saving me from a droll world and showing me fun and excitement. Thank you."

"You're welcome, my dear," he replied a little huskily, leaning towards her.

His rump was nearly falling off the stool he sat upon as he said this, and his foot slipped, making him fall into her. She caught him with a small laugh, and the two looked each other in the eyes intently. Then, Alyce leaned in and placed a soft kiss upon Jervis' lips. His eyes went wide for a second, but soon, he began returning the kiss with something akin to hunger.

'_God, she tastes so good…'_

Alyce wrapped her arms around his shoulders and snaked a hand up into his wild hair, holding the back of his head as if she didn't want to let him go. In turn, he placed a hand on her cheek as they explored each other's mouths.

"Mmm…" Alyce groaned before the two parted for air.

"Alysyn, I…I want you to know that, despite our, erm…differences when we first met, that I think you're wonderful. And beautiful. Do you…" Jervis said, almost afraid to ask what he wanted to ask.

He took a deep breath, then, "Do you believe in soul mates?"

"Of course!" Alyce answered, flustered. "I, um…I kind of thought maybe you are…are, um…mine, but…if you don't, then…"

That was all he needed to hear. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and placed a deep, passionate kiss on her. She moaned pleasurably and returned the kiss with warmth and love, making him so aroused that he lost control. Abruptly, he pulled away and stood up, bringing her along with him. She gasped with surprise, but wasn't fighting him. However, when he pressed his body against hers so she could feel his hardening member through his slacks, she began to squirm a little.

"Alysyn…please…don't resist me again. I know you want me. I want you. Why do you deny yourself this?" He asked almost achingly.

"I…I don't know!" she cried, confusion clearly etched into her features.

He reached down with an ungloved hand and gingerly caressed the back of her bloomer-covered thigh, raising her skirt in the process. She shuddered a little, but it wasn't a shudder of fear. It was of pleasure. Alyce arched her back against him, and he let out a lusty growl, holding her tighter and looking at her madly.

"You like that, hmm?"

He then spun her around, lifted her by the buttocks, and sat her on a cleared part of the worktable so that he was in between her legs.

'_The perfect height.'_

"Jervis…" she sighed out in her own husky voice.

Jervis looked deep into her green eyes, placed his hands gently on either side of her face, and kissed her before reaching under her skirt and teasingly playing with her bloomers' waistband. He could feel her heartbeat quicken as he snaked his hand down between her bloomers and bikini underwear. Her cheeks were flushed a bright pink from arousal and he grinned, feeling his own heat intensify.

"You make me do this to you, you know," Jervis was saying as he reached up and began unclasping her corset, one hook at a time. "I've controlled myself up until now, and I can no longer do so."

His blue eyes gazed at her lustily under heavy eyelids, and she took in a sharp breath as he freed her from the corset, tossing it to the side carelessly. Her supple breasts were perked underneath her blue peasant blouse, and Jervis leaned in and nuzzled a spot between her neck and clavicle. She groaned and he felt her hands playing with the buttons on his green-checkered vest.

"I've given you shelter from the outside world. I've given you meals, a party, my attention, and now _I want you_," Jervis breathed, reaching under her skirt once again, this time grasping her bloomers' waistband and, with her help, yanking them down over her hips.

"I…I, um…whew…" Alyce stuttered. "This is hot."

Jervis grinned impishly, allowing her to completely unbutton his vest, then work her way to his white shirt. She un-tucked it briskly, and almost eagerly ran her hands over his bare belly, then up to his chest. He moaned, and swiftly undid the laces of her knee-high black moccasins before yanking them off one by one and tossing them to floor. This allowed him to pull off her bloomers completely, taking her underwear with them. Alyce then moved her hands down to his pants and undid them. When he was free, he slid her forward a little, then moved inside of her, releasing a loud groan as he felt her hot wetness.

"Ah! Gods!" Alyce cried as she took him in, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders.

Jervis was slow at first, letting her get used to him, before he began to move more fervently.

"Alysyn…so perfect. My Alyce…ahhh…"

He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist, while the other one rested upon the worktable for support as he continued his ministrations. Occasionally, he cupped her now bared breasts in his hands. His mouth also sought out her hardened nipples and he sucked on them playfully here and there in between kisses on the mouth.

"Hatter! Yes!" Alyce moaned loudly, reaching down and grabbing his buttocks, urging him to thrust deeper and harder.

Sweat began beading on his forehead, making his red hair stick a little to his skin. He panted heavily, looking intensely into her eyes before he felt a blinding, white-hot sensation begin to build within him. Alyce arched her back, letting out a cry of sheer pleasure as he felt her release. He released not long after, and Jervis nearly collapsed on top her, shuddering a little. They held and kissed each other for several minutes after, stroking hair and cheeks.

When they calmed down, Jervis pulled back, looked at Alyce and said, "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced. You're wonderful. My Alyce…"

Alyce smiled coyly. "You're not so bad yourself. Wow…um…okay, I know I've said it before, but I have to say it again. I like it when you're somewhat aggressive. I don't know what it is, but it turns me on."

Jervis grinned. "Then why did you want to resist, hmm?"

Alyce frowned. "I don't know…I guess that, even though we admitted that we're falling for each other, that we feel we might be soul-mates, I'm afraid you'll break my heart – like so many others have done…"

It was now Jervis' turn to frown. "I would never hurt you. How can I when you're the perfect lover for me?"

She had lowered her face away from him, and he gently put his finger underneath her chin, lifting it back up so she could look him in the eyes.

"Listen to me, Alysyn. I know we've only been together for a week and a half, but it feels like we've known each other our whole lives. This confuses me, too, but perhaps it was meant to happen like this. I truly feel that the powers that be are smiling upon us. We're _meant to be_..."

Alyce gave him a truly warming smile then, before she leaned up and kissed him tenderly. He reciprocated, pulling her close and holding her comfortingly. The energy between the two was love, and if someone happened to observe them, they would have no problem seeing the obvious "glow" that emanated from them. That night, they slept together in Jervis' bed.

******

The following day, they went into the heart of the city. Jervis had finished his devices and Alyce had imbued magic into them. There were a dozen of these new inventions, and the first people they put them on were, of course, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Alyce had given them the ability of producing fireballs. She had said that she wasn't sure how well they'd work, since the surge of energy could eventually short them out, causing permanent brain damage to the wearers.

"That is why we are testing them before we use them for any major schemes, my dear," Jervis had said.

He was well aware that things like this needed to be tested. His regular devices had needed to be tested before he tweaked them to where he wanted them. If these devices didn't work out in the long run, then they would simply go back to the drawing board and try again. Just the thought of having lackeys with magical abilities was thrilling. It would keep Alyce from having to use up all of her energy, and it would certainly throw the Jabberwocky for a loop. Hatter and Alyce could be near unstoppable.

"So…where are we testing these things at?" Alyce asked from her seat in the new vehicle they'd procured.

This one was a 1998 red Jeep Grand Cherokee.

"I thought we'd rob a bank or two. Maybe even a jewelry store. I'd like to get you something pretty," Jervis answered, smiling and putting a light hand on her thigh and giving it a gentle rub. "Afterward, providing all goes well, I thought maybe we'd stop by the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge to have a couple celebratory drinks. I need to speak with Cobblepot anyway. He might be interested in those antiques we took, or at least know someone who would be."

They arrived in the Financial District within a matter of minutes, and their first stop was Gotham's First National Bank.

"Okay, Alyce. Since this is your first time on the job with me, I'd like you simply to observe," Jervis said, stepping out of the Jeep, followed by Tweedles Dee and Dum. Keep an eye on the Jeep, and when you see us emerging, start it up and be ready to help load the cash."

"But—" she started to protest, before he put a gloved finger to her lips.

"Trust me, my sweet. During the next job we pull, you will be a part of it. You must learn before doing."

"Fine," she replied a bit hotly, crossing her arms. "I suppose I can see how well _my_ spells work from here. Though if I get bored while I wait, I'm robbing something by myself."

Jervis frowned. "Be _patient_, my dear. You will get to have your fun soon, I promise."

He then gestured for the Tweedles to follow him, and they walked across the street and into the bank. Jervis removed his Colt 45 and fired it a couple of times into the air.

"Hello! I suggest you all keep your heads and get down on the ground. I want as many sacks of cash that your vault currently has. Quickly now, or it's OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"

The security guards reached for their radios, and Jervis spotted one of the tellers going for the silent alarm under the counter.

"Tisk-tisk! Such manners. Tweedles, if you would, please."

The Tweedles moved their arms similar to how Alyce would, and instantly, fireballs were flying. The security guards and the bank teller were hit and instantly set on fire. Jervis grinned like the Cheshire Cat as he listened to them scream in agony.

"Callooh! Callay!" the Hatter chortled. "That'll teach you bandersnatches!"

Other people began to scream in fear, and Jervis frowned.

"BE QUIET!" he yelled, firing his gun randomly.

People quickly shut up. Hatter then turned to the bank's manager, who had hurried out and held up his hands in surrender, his eyes wide.

"You!" Jervis said, pointing his gun at the manager. "Open the vault. The Tweedles will follow and load the money themselves."

When the manager hesitated, Jervis quickly aimed his gun at a male teller and fired, hitting him squarely in the chest. The teller instantly crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

"I SAID OPEN THE VAULT! _**NOW!**_"

******

A few hours later, after they had dropped off the two large sacks of cash at their hideout, Hatter and Alyce went back out – this time to a large jewelry store. As promised, Hatter allowed her join in on the fun, which she had enjoyed immensely. Instead of barging in and demanding jewels, Alyce had created a heavy, localized fog within the building. This had confused everyone inside, and when she blinked behind each of the employees, tapping them on the shoulders, they'd whipped around, scared, before they were telekinetically pushed into the glass cases and knocked unconscious. The Tweedles set fire to any stragglers, and the newly formed Wonderlandian Criminal Duo walked away with armloads of expensive trinkets.

"You performed wonderfully, my dear," Hatter praised her once they were back in the Jeep and safely on their way back to their hideout to drop their second load off.

Alyce grinned broadly. "Thank you, Jervis. It feels good to use my magic and take things whenever and however I wish."

While she hadn't been a particularly violent person in the past, Alyce found this side of her to be most welcoming. She was now truly free, and to be free with Jervis, the man she'd willingly made love to the day before, was fabulous. He'd kept his promise of showing her Wonderland – in more ways than one – and she had no intentions of leaving his side. They _were_ truly meant to be.

"Once we drop off the jewels, let's load up the antiques and head for the Iceberg," Jervis suggested. "I'm sure the Penguin will be pleased to meet you."

"Ooo…I get meet another one of your friends. How lovely. Wasn't the Penguin a Rogue like us at one point?"

"Yes, but then he went 'legit', opening up his famous nightclub. Though all of us know he still has underworld dealings. We might even run into some of the people you met at the tea party. Most of us hang out there, and Cobblepot doesn't mind, since it seems to draw the socialites who want to see us famous Rogues."

Alyce grinned, leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek before she said slyly, "Want to show me off and gloat, huh?"

Jervis blushed. "Why wouldn't I, my dear? I'm proud to have you at my side."

* * *

**NOTE (again):** The * is in reference to my friend, Esperata's story, "Do You Play?" where she talks about Jervis' parents. Check her story out if you have the time. She's very good at describing Hatter and Scarecrow's psychological problems.

Also, YAY ALYCE! She is now officially Jervis' girlfriend and partner-in-crime. Just so you guys know, we've got a little while before this story will be complete, so fear not. There will be more confrontations with Theresa and the Bat before it's all said and done. Hope you all liked this chapter. I really don't think it's one of my better ones...


	11. Of Icebergs and Plans and Plants

"Ah, Hatter, it's good to see you, and with such a lovely lady at your side," Oswald Cobblepot greeted Hatter and Alyce, bowing with a flourish and kissing Alyce's hand.

Cobblepot grinned broadly and gave her a wink before shaking hands with Jervis, who put his arm possessively around Alyce's shoulders and gave the Penguin a look. Alyce raised a dark eyebrow at this display of "I'm the alpha male, not you" type of thing Jervis put on. He really did like to be in control, which she didn't mind – some times. It was okay for the moment since she was new to the whole being a criminal thing. Still, she didn't want to appear completely submissive.

"Hello. Nice to meet you, Mr. Cobblepot," Alyce responded kindly, despite Jervis' controlling display of affection.

"The pleasure is all mine, my dear," the Penguin said in a smooth voice, eyeing her a little. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Alysyn McArthur, but please, call me Alyce."

The pudgy bird-like man continued eyeing her, which made her a bit uncomfortable. She leaned into Jervis a little, and he cleared his throat, getting right down to business.

"Oswald, we wanted to see you about getting rid of some antiques for us. My Alyce helped me procure some very valuable items, which I'm sure will yield us a large amount of funds."

The Penguin walked behind his desk and took a seat before replying, "I'm afraid the Market is bad for that kind of thing right now. Can't help you. Why would you need all of that extra cash anyway? After the bank and jewelry store heists you pulled earlier today, you two should have enough for a mansion with all of the amenities."

Jervis' eyes widened. "How did you know about those?"

"You made the news, Jervis. How in world did you manage to get lackeys with the ability to hurl fireballs? Your lady, perhaps?"

Cobblepot turned a sly grin towards Alyce, who blushed a little.

Jervis, who'd taken his arm from around her, stood proudly and replied, "Why yes, actually."

He grinned and glanced Alyce's way before going on, "My Alyce has a wondrous gift that she has gladly decided to share with me. She can do a Wonderland of frabjous things."

"Good for you, Jervis," Penguin said as if he didn't really care. "If you wish to plan over dinner, please keep it down. Don't want anyone eavesdropping, you know, and I certainly don't wish to be inspected for underworld dealings. I'm lucky I don't get in trouble for harboring you people in my restaurant."

"Guess the socialites that come here bring good business to the neighborhood," Alyce commented off-handedly.

"Not just that, but it's also a good place where the authorities and the Jabberwocky clan can keep an eye on us. It's best if we sit in the usual spot," Jervis added, giving a respectful nod to Cobblepot. "Hopefully, the vigilante doesn't know we're here."

"Very well," Cobblepot said with a nod in return. "I'll inform Chickadee that you are here with a companion. She'll get your table ready."

He pressed a button on the intercom and told his head waitress, Chickadee, that the Mad Hatter and Alyce were in need of a table. She responded with a chipper tone, stating that it would be ready in less than five minutes.

Penguin then pressed another button on his desk, and said with a grin, "If I'm not mistaken, I do believe Pamela and Harley are here as well. Have fun, Jervis, Miss Alyce."

Cobblepot gave them a curt nod and dismissed them from his office. Upon exiting, Hatter and Alyce were greeted by Chickadee – a black bodice, fishnets, and mini-skirt-wearing blonde woman of impeccable beauty – who led them clear to the back of the Iceberg. There was a raised eating section that was mostly closed off by large "ice" columns surrounding the twenty-five by twenty-five foot area.

"Hiya, Alyce!" Harley bubbled upon seeing Alyce enter into the darkened eating area.

"Hi, Harley," Alyce replied with a small smile and a wave.

She then looked at Poison Ivy and said with a bigger smile, "Hello, Pamela. How have you ladies been?"

"Oh just wonderful!" Quinn replied a bit sarcastically. "Mistah J kicked me out again, so I've been staying with Red. We've been having fun."

"Yes, I keep trying to tell Harls here to stop being controlled by that clown, and move in with me, but she won't listen. The moment 'Mistah J' calls for her, she'll go running back to him," Ivy said with some heat and a glare that pointed at an imaginary figure.

Alyce figured that that figure was the Joker. Jervis had told her over the past week that the Joker was a bit…abusive, treating Harley like some toy, rather than his lover. Though Harley puts up with it with Pamela's help and her own proclamation, "He just does it for a laugh. My Puddin' don't mean anything by it." Alyce was glad that Jervis isn't _that_ controlling. She would definitely have to hex him often if he was…

"By the way, Alyce, do you think you could stop by sometime and do those wards you were talking about? I have some deadly nightshade and monkshood for you," Ivy asked after a moment.

"Oh! Wonderful! Perhaps I can stop by tomorrow?"

"That would be fine," Pam agreed.

"Cool! We can hang out for a while!" Harley piped in with a large grin.

Alyce nodded and smiled. "Sure. It might be fun."

Jervis grinned and added, "A ladies' night, er, day."

Hatter and Alyce took their seats shortly thereafter in a booth on the other side of the room from Harley and Ivy's. Alyce smiled humorously at the upholstery on the booths and dining chairs, which was an ice-blue color. The tables looked like flat sheets of ice that had icicles hanging off the corners. Upon further inspection, she saw that the tables were really made of some type of frosted glass and molded to look authentic. She was amusedly impressed.

"Wow. The Penguin must have struck it rich to make his club so…classy-chic," Alyce commented once they were situated comfortably across from each other.

Jervis raised a red eyebrow. "'Classy-chic?"

"Yeah. That's the only way I can describe how this place looks. It's neat. I like it. Good atmosphere."

Jervis grinned, and looked at her warmly for a minute before he said, "I'd like to let you know once again how happy I am. You performed, dare I say, _magically_ today. So far, the devices are working without any signs of fail."

Hatter's compliments made Alyce smile. She, herself, was quite happy with her work on his devices. Like Jervis said, so far, they hadn't shorted out because of too much energy. Hopefully, they never will with the thin layer of hematite – a grounding stone – she attached to the cards to keep the energy stabilized. Of course, Jervis had added an extra part as well to further increase the control cards' stability.

"Thank you, Jervis. It was really no big deal. Quite simple, actually," Alyce replied, her cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment. "Erm, when shall we test the other ones I helped you with?"

"You mean the devices with all the other lovely spells you placed on them?"

Alyce nodded.

"Soon. First, I want to get rid of those antiques. Get them out of our hair since they are really of no value to us, and they'll only be in the way if they remain at the hideout."

Furrowing her brow in thought, Alyce said, "Well…we could just give them to the police."

Jervis looked at her as if she'd grown an extra head.

When she saw this look, Alyce continued, "I'm serious, Jervis. If we can get those old trinkets outside police headquarters without being noticed, I can blink everything inside the front door and blink back out before any of the cops realize what they just witnessed."

"You've got a good point there, my dear. Very good. That's what we shall do then. It should confuse them long enough for us to make our exit," Jervis replied, smiling and looking quite impressed with her train of thought.

Alyce took a sip of her ice water as Chickadee came back to place their order.

"So sorry it took me so long to get back over here, guys," Chickadee apologized, looking flustered. "Busy night."

"I understand. Why don't we start out with some drinks? Alyce?"

"Yeah, I think I'll try the large strawberry-kiwi daiquiri. Made with rum, please, not vodka," Alyce said.

"And you, Mr. Tetch? Your usual?"

Jervis nodded. "Yes, please."

"All right. I'll get your drinks A.S.A.P.," the bombshell waitress said before trotting off to get the drink order in.

Alyce gave Jervis a curious look. "What's your usual drink?"

Jervis grinned. "Long Island Iced Tea."

"You're braver than I am," Alyce replied with a smile, before picking up the menu and looking it over.

Five minutes later, Chickadee returned with the drinks and the Wonderlandian couple ordered their meals. The waitress said it'd be about a half-hour, so Hatter and Alyce continued to talk.

"So, do we really need all of that cash and jewelry we stole today?" Alyce asked, sipping on her daiquiri.

"Why?" Jervis asked carefully, giving her a strange look. "Do you have something else in mind?"

Alyce grinned. "Actually, yes, I do."

"What?"

"Why not confuse the police and the Jabberwocky even more? What if we pull a 'Robin Hood' on the city of Gotham? It would create temporary chaos, and make the citizens look at us in a slightly different light."

Jervis scratched his chin as he thought this over, then, "Yes, I like this idea. It can cover up the bigger, more sinister plan I have in mind, hiding our true intentions."

He grinned devilishly here, making Alyce smile in return. She had an idea of what he had in mind for the Jabberwocky…and possibly, Theresa. Jervis had said that her ex-friend would pay for what she did to her, and Alyce had to agree that she deserved some payback. She just didn't want to kill her friend turned adversary unless it was absolutely necessary.

******

The following day, Alyce went to the address Ivy had given her before she left the club with Harley. When Alyce pulled up in the cab, she noticed that the place was an abandoned greenhouse facility located on the edge of the city. Several maple and pine trees, with a few birches, surrounded the area here and there. It was the perfect place for a plant-woman like Pamela to do her thing.

Alyce got out of the cab and motioned for the cabbie to find a secluded area and wait for her command to pick her back up. She was flattered when Jervis made a small adjustment to one of his devices after they'd gotten back from the Iceberg. He'd made it so that she could control a cab driver to take her to Ivy's, rather than risk using the Jeep, which could have been spotted by a witness during one of the petty heists they'd pulled. Alyce wore a blue riding hat that had white, purple, and dark blue feathers inside a fancy silver pin that was attached to the hatband. This hat looked like a miniature version of a Victorian top hat, but was made for the Renaissance period. A spare main controlling unit that Jervis had tweaked was placed inside the hat, just like his was.

She had to admit that this made her feel rather special. Jervis even said that he didn't allow others use of his inventions unless he felt them worthy enough. They were few and far between. The only time he'd allowed someone to use his devices was when the Joker requested them, and that had ended up badly. It took over three months before Jervis had come out of his coma-induced state. This incident that Jervis had told Alyce about made said woman look at the Clown Prince of Crime with a slight sneer, rather than annoyance, which she had done towards the end of the tea party. It appeared that Jervis trusted her completely, and Alyce had to admit that she trusted him equally. She felt truly comfortable with him.

Alyce walked the couple hundred feet towards the first of two greenhouses, both of which were overgrown with vegetation. She also sensed something else about the place. As if it were alive somehow. She continued on carefully. When she came to what appeared to be a large wall of nothing but thick vines, the vines pulled aside as though a curtain was being drawn back. This revealed an open doorway to which Alyce cautiously entered.

"Hello, Alyce. Glad you could make it," Pamela's voice said from inside the room she'd just entered.

Looking around, Alyce could see plants of all shapes, sizes, colors, and some plants that looked wild and exotic. Those were the plants Alyce could swear were alive.

'_I think I may have stumbled upon the garden of talking flowers,'_ she mused to herself, giving Pam a small smile.

"It's not a problem. We made an agreement. I try not to go back on my word."

"How loyal of you," Ivy replied with a raised eyebrow and a small grin.

She paused for a moment, before going on, "Before I show you around, I need to give you something."

She then produced a syringe from inside her forearm glove and waved it a little. Alyce gulped nervously.

"Don't worry," Ivy said, seeing the witch's reaction. "It's a formula that will make you immune to all of my toxic babies and chemicals I use."

Alyce relaxed. This was nice. Apparently, Pam liked her well enough to keep her well being in mind.

"Oh, well, thank you," she replied, taking in a deep breath as Ivy readied an area on Alyce's arm.

There was a small pinch a moment later, then pressure as Ivy pressed a cotton ball on the place the needle had stuck. Before the plant-lady pulled away, she frowned, looking at the scar on Alyce's left shoulder.

Looking from Ivy's own forest-green eyes to her shoulder, Alyce said somewhat darkly, "Jervis didn't do that to me. My best friend turned adversary did that to me."

"Okay, I wasn't sure," Pam said, giving her a stern look.

"Don't worry, Pam. I don't let him control me _too_ much."

"Good. I've been trying to tell Harley that she needs to wake up, but she's the most stubborn person I think I've ever met."

Alyce couldn't help but grin. It sounded like either a: Pam was a mother-type figure, or b: the woman liked Miss Quinn in another type of way. She could tell that Ivy might swing both ways; just by the way she looked at and acted around the bubbly clown-woman. This didn't bother Alyce, so long as she wasn't the one being come on to by the plant-lady. That would just be creepy.

"Where's Harley?" Alyce ventured to ask.

"Joker came calling for her. I guess they're working on something to do with laughing fish. Sounds stupid, in my opinion, but Harley's all excited about it," Ivy answered with a roll of her eyes. "I suspect she'll be back in the next day or two, providing they don't get sent back to Arkham."

"Heh. That's a place I hope I don't ever end up in. Jervis tells me it's so normal that it's maddening."

Ivy grinned. "You have no idea. And the guards treat us like animals. Especially the newbies who try and prove their worth by heckling and unnecessary force."

Alyce frowned. "Sounds like some of them could use a lesson in manners."

Ivy laughed. "I knew I would like you, Alyce. Shall I show you around my humble abode before you begin doing your thing?"

"I'd like that very much. This place looks and feels…interesting," Alyce answered with a smile.

Pamela showed her around both greenhouses. The second one housed some of Ivy's more dangerous plants aside from the creeping vines, which Alyce had discovered were the curtain covering the entrance to greenhouse one. Greenhouse two had a man-eating venus flytrap, a set of poison-spitting exotic flowers, and a few other weird plant-creatures that Ivy had created. The woman really was a genius in botany, and Alyce loved the tropical, jungle-like atmosphere. There was a lot of energy here that she could work off of while putting up the cloaking and defensive wards.

After a forty-five minute tour of Ivy's hideout, Alyce began the warding process outside. First, she put up a cloaking ward that made the "abandoned" greenhouses appear like the surrounding forest. She needed Ivy present for this so that, after the ward was in place, she could connect the plant-lady with the ward so she could see the greenhouses. She was about to start on the defensive wards when Ivy stopped her.

"No need for the defensive wards, dearie. My babies can take care of intruders."

"All right," Alyce replied, her energy only about half drained.

'_Thank the gods she's happy with the cloaking ward. Would be kind of embarrassing if I just passed out after placing all of the charms.'_

"Thank you, Alyce. I'll go get the plants you asked for."

A few moments later, Ivy came back carrying a small pot that held a plant with little purple flowers on it, as well as another plant, also with purple flowers, only these ones were bigger with a different shape.

"Normally, I despise people who sabotage plants, but in your case, I don't mind because I know their sacrifice will be put to good use," Ivy said seriously as she handed the plants over to Alyce.

Alyce nodded. "Yes, they will. Thank you, Pam. Good luck with whatever you're doing."

"You too. C-ya, Alyce."

With a small wave from Ivy, Alyce headed out of the plant-lady's newly cloaked hideout and summoned the controlled cab driver so she could go back to Jervis and get to work on making some potions.


	12. Hallucinations

The day after Alyce went to Poison Ivy's, the Jeep Cherokee was loaded up with the antiques that Hatter and Alyce had taken. In broad daylight, the Wonderlandian couple drove down to police headquarters and quickly unloaded the dozen items – two fairly large, four medium, and six small things – with the help of the Tweedles.

Once everything was at the bottom of the steps, Jervis readied his pistol, nodded at Dee and said, "Stand-by until Alyce is clear of the building."

"Yes, sir," Dee responded dully.

"You sound bored, Dee. Try to sound more enthusiastic next time."

"Yes, sir!" Dee exclaimed, standing at attention and giving Jervis a small salute.

Alyce gave him a look and shook her head. "You're not right. Of course, neither am I. Heh, I'm mad, you're mad…we're all mad here!"

Jervis grinned broadly at her. "Be careful, my dear, and be quick. Don't want us getting caught now, do we?"

He looked at her a bit seriously here, and Alyce said, "I'll be in and out in few seconds. Time me."

She gave Hatter a wink, and before he could get his gold pocket-watch out, Alyce and the antiques were gone – as if in the blink of an eye. Jervis' jaw dropped.

'_That's the first time I've seen her do __**that**__!'_

Just inside the door of police H.Q., Alyce appeared with the entire dozen of antiques. A few officers cautiously approached her when they spotted her. Alyce smiled mischievously at them, curtsied, and blinked back to the Jeep before any of them knew what happened.

Back outside, Jervis guessed that it had only taken her about five seconds to vanish in and vanish back out.

Awed, Jervis asked, "What was that you just did?"

Alyce grinned. "I'll tell you on the way back to the hideout. Let's get out of here before they realize we're right outside the front doors."

"Good idea. Dee! Drive!"

The three hopped in the Jeep, antique-free, and started heading back to the hideout. Jervis kept glancing behind them every so often to make sure none of the cops were following them. They weren't. Jervis let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and smiled at Alyce.

"Okay, what was that vanishing and reappearing act you did back there? You were like the Cheshire Cat!"

"Hmm? Oh, that's just blinking," Alyce answered off-handedly.

"Blinking?"

"Yes, blinking. It's a type of teleportation that takes years to master. My parents first discovered I could do it when I was very young. Six, they told me. My father could blink as well, and began teaching me how to control it. It's something that requires a lot of concentration. I can only blink to places I can see with my own eyes. My father was able to blink across town. In time, I should be able to do the same."

She said all of this nonchalantly, and Jervis found himself staring at her in fascination for the umpteenth time since they'd met. It's been about two weeks now, and they were growing ever stronger both as a couple and as a criminal duo.

Jervis looked over at her as Dee casually drove the route back to their hideout. The sun shown brightly upon her face, making her squint her green eyes a little. She appeared to be off in her own Wonderland, and he wondered what she was thinking of. Reaching out, he lightly stroked her brunette-auburn tresses. She smiled a little and glanced his way. Jervis grinned and gazed into her eyes. Alyce had felt good to him the night they'd made love. She felt _right _in every way, and he wanted her forever.

******

That same evening, Hatter and Alyce were perched on top of a rooftop. They were waiting for a news chopper to spot them so that their antics would be displayed for all of Gotham to see.

'_I do believe that's a news bird coming our way,'_ Jervis thought with a grin as he looked skyward and spotted a local Gotham City News chopper swinging their way.

"Okay, Alyce. Now!" he told Alyce, who started throwing cash and jewels over the side of the building.

The Wonderlandian couple kept about two-thirds of what they'd stolen in cash and gems. Now, they were about ready to begin the first move of the grand game of chess they wanted to play against the Jabberwocky.

Jervis waited until the GCN helicopter saw them and began to hover about fifty feet from where they were. He saw the light on the camera, grinned, and then picked up handfuls of stolen goods and threw it over the side of the five-story office building alongside Alyce. Hatter watched as funds and pretties they'd stolen purely to test out a new controlling device fell to the busy streets below.

He could see people along the streets stop and let out an exclamation before scampering around to pick up jewels, then jumping up to grab at slowly falling bills. Cars crashed into each other around the building as the drivers scrambled out of their vehicles to grab the cash and jewels alongside the pedestrians.

"Look at them, Alyce, so mundane in thought. They're like mice to cheese when it comes to anything monetary. They have no clue that happiness is in the heart and mind," Jervis commented with an arrogant smile.

"And the spirit, Jervis. Happiness is in spirit as well," Alyce said. "And you're right. They do not know themselves as well as they'd like to think."

Jervis looked at her, took her hand, and grinned. "Exactly, my dear. I was hoping that one day – not today, not tomorrow, possibly not for several months – that we could help…_change their minds_. Make them see what a Wonderland Gotham can be. Our own little Utopian kingdom."

"Can I be Queen of this Gotham Wonderland?" Alyce asked flirtatiously, giving him a coy glance.

"Of course, my dear! You shall be Queen Alyce, ruler beside yours truly, who shall be King Hatter!"

He smiled boyishly here, and Alyce giggled before tossing the last of the stolen goods over the side.

"That's everything, Jervis," she said, gathering up the empty sacks.

"Then let's go. You can blink us back down, right?"

He gave her a slightly nervous look, and she just grabbed onto his jacket and teleported them back to just beside the Jeep. Jervis wobbled a little bit before gathering his bearings and shook his head.

"That's such a strange sensation. It's almost like the White Queen is dragging you along, only much worse. I daresay it's almost like I've been de-materialized and put back together upon reappearing," Hatter said a bit woozily.

Alyce put a hand on his shoulder to help steady him and laughed a little.

"You do 'de-materialize'. Sort of. We actually travel in a different plane of existence when we blink. It's hard to explain."

"…Let's go home," Jervis said after a moment of staring, thinking of how much a Wonderland Alyce was.

******

"What have you got for me, Jim?" the gravelly voice of Batman asked from the shadows of Commissioner James Gordon's office at police headquarters.

Jim started a little, startled at Batman's sudden appearance. He should be used to this kind of thing by now. It's been several years since he started working with the Dark Knight to take down Gotham's criminals. Somehow, though, Batman always seemed to keep surprising the Commissioner. The only thing he's really gotten used to was the vigilante's vanishing act.

"Uh, we have a couple of tapes, Batman. Thought you might want to have a look at them and give us your opinion. It baffled Forensics," Gordon said, recovering quickly from his startle.

He took one of the two tapes from on top of his desk and went over to a TV/VCR and popped it in. Batman moved into the light of the room and watched silently. The camera showed two large, bulky men dressed as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum throwing fireballs at the security guards and one of the tellers, catching them on fire and killing them. Batman's eyes narrowed. Next, the camera showed the Mad Hatter shooting a gun and killing another teller before the "Tweedles" helped the manager load two large sacks of cash.

"Did the security tapes pick up any vehicles outside?" the Dark Knight asked.

Gordon sighed. "Unfortunately, no. The camera was working out there, but no signs of a getaway vehicle."

"Hmm, could be a cloaking charm…" Batman mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Jim queried.

"It's nothing. What's on the other tape?"

Gordon removed the first tape and put the second one in. This one jumped around to different angles of the jewelry store about every five seconds. First, it showed a thick, eerie fog beginning to engulf the room, making the camera views somewhat obscured. Then, they could barely make out a woman's figure in a blue and white dress disappear from in front of the counter and reappear behind the employee behind the counter in the blink of an eye. The next thing to happen were employees being hurled by an invisible force into the glass counters, smashing them to pieces. Luckily, no one was too seriously injured during this heist.

"We've had our video analysts look at both of these tapes over and over again, and they can't find any evidence of them being tampered with. My first thought was that Hatter is working with a Meta-human. Do you know if this is true, Batman?" Gordon asked, crossing his arms and leaning against his desk.

Batman narrowed his eyes, and then, "Do you believe in magic and witches, Jim?"

Gordon looked at the Dark Knight as if he'd gone crazy. "Not really, why?"

"You'd better start. I'd like to take these tapes and analyze them further. See if I can find something your analysts couldn't."

"All right. I'll need them back in no less than two days," Gordon replied, a little perplexed by Batman's odd choice of question and response.

Suddenly, a call came over the police radio.

"_Skktt!_ Small riot in downtown Gotham near a cluster of office buildings located on East Fifth and Hemlock Avenue. Requesting multiple S.W.A.T. units to maintain chaos to a minimum. _Skktt!_"

A second later, his secretary came rushing in and told Gordon that the riot was all over the news. When Gordon turned to tell Batman he had to check it out, the Dark Knight was nowhere to be seen. Jim smirked and headed out of the office to look at the TV.

He gasped when he saw the Mad Hatter and Alyce spilling cash and gems onto the streets.

"What in the world are they up to?"

******

The following afternoon, a popular costume shop was hit. The only items stolen were a set of well-made Alice in Wonderland costumes, minus the Hatter and Alice attire. Then, another bank was struck. It was the same branch as the last, only it was on the other side of town. Hatter did pretty much the same procedure as last time; only he didn't have to kill anyone. Alyce also joined him on this heist, and before they left, she left a present for the Jabberwocky.

"This is my first time setting a magical trap, you know," Alyce was saying as she set a spell upon the bank's vault. "Though it should work almost like the defensive wards at home."

"Hehehe…We'll mess with the Jabberwocky's mind, and then we can truly test the new devices," Hatter said with a mad giggle and a devious grin.

Alyce grinned as well, and once the spell was finished, she turned back to Jervis and said, "Alright, let's get out of here."

"Excellent! Now we need to do some more work to our abode before this plan fully works itself out. Dee! Dum! Load the cash into the Jeep. Hurry! There is much to do!"

******

That night, Batman did some investigating at the site of the second bank robbery. He took out a pair of special binoculars and scanned the room. Bullet holes riddled the ceiling, and the walls were scorched here and there, presumably from the Tweedles' fireballs. Batman knew Alyce was behind that. It seems that somehow, Tetch and McArthur had combined technology with magic to both control and give their victims a magical power. At least, this was what the Dark Knight's instincts were telling him, and they rarely ever led him astray.

When he scanned the vault, the binoculars picked up an unknown energy field surrounding the entrance. Batman approached the vault cautiously. He didn't see anything outwardly out of place, and the binoculars didn't pick up anything else. Putting a finger to his cowl, he radioed Alfred.

"Alfred. I'm going to send you some information the binoculars picked up around the vault. See if you can find out what it is. I'm going to keep looking around."

"_Very good, sir. Shall I have a cup of soup ready when you return?"_

Batman smirked, flipping open the top of his left glove. He punched in a code on his palm-top computer to download the information from the binoculars to the computer. Once that was complete, he punched in another code to have the information sent to the Batcave for analysis.

"I'll be home late. Don't wait up," the Dark Knight finally answered Alfred before he cut off communication.

Putting away his binoculars, Batman carefully continued to inspect the threshold of the vault. Suddenly, he felt an intense tingling sensation course throughout his body. He quickly readied a bat-a-rang. The tingling sensation seemed harmless enough, but who knows what else or _who_ else could be lurking.

"Jabberwocky…"

He heard a voice whisper.

"Who's there?" Batman asked harshly.

As if in answer, he saw a white rabbit hop into the vault, stopping every few seconds to sniff around. When he went to approach the animal, it disappeared.

"What the…?"

Batman then heard a loud banging, as if someone were hammering on the safes inside the vault, yet no one was there.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" the same voice screamed in the Dark Knight's ear, making him whip around to face…nobody.

Batman slowly began to back out of the vault.

"Follow the White Rabbit…" the voice – a woman's voice – whispered.

'_That's McArthur's voice…'_

The same rabbit that Batman had seen hopping into the vault now appeared next to one of the teller windows. He went over to it, cautiously, and looked around the desk. There were no notes or anything suspicious, so the Dark Knight tried to look at the rabbit to see if it had any sort of controlling device on it. When he went to pick it up, it suddenly changed form. First, the teeth elongated into sharp fangs, the eyes became large and psychotic, and the body grew to the size of a medium dog. The next thing Batman knew, the creature was lunging itself at him, jaws snapping. Batman began to fight it off, and after a moment, he caught himself fighting nothing but air. Breathing heavily and trying to figure out what was happening to him, the Dark Knight once again put a finger to his cowl.

"Alfred, have you found anything on the energy the binoculars picked up?"

"No, sir. Not really. It has some components of an electromagnetic field, but there's another component that doesn't match any known source."

There was a pause, then, "Sir, is everything all right?"

Batman, his mind reeling from the hallucinations, said, "Yes. Everything's fine, Alfred. I have some more investigating to do. Let me know if you find anything else."

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a black figure in his peripheral vision. Instinctively, he threw the bat-a-rang towards it, but the weapon hit nothing but air. When the Dark Knight blinked, the figure was gone. The only thing Batman could figure was that he had tripped some sort of spell trap. He knew it was Hatter's work, simply due to what the voices were saying, not to mention the rabbit. If it hadn't been for those two things, the Dark Knight would have thought immediately of this being more of the Scarecrow's modus operandi. Of course, Crane used gases, not raw energy, to instill fear into his victims.

Batman didn't like magic-users, and he _really_ didn't like having to get help from someone he hardly knew. However, if he expected to win against the Hatter's magical accomplice, he knew he was going to need Miss Bonham's help…before the hallucinations got the better of him.


	13. Getting to Know You, Pt 2

"_Gotham City saw a strange turn of events a few nights ago as a GCN helicopter discovered Jervis Tetch, known here in Gotham as the Mad Hatter, and a young woman dressed as Alice dumping stolen cash and jewels off the rooftop of a five-story office building."_

A twenty-seven inch television screen jumped from the attractive, female newscaster to a nighttime scene of the Mad Hatter and Alyce tossing cash and jewels over the side of a building. Then, it jumped to the small riot that ensued around the building.

"_Police have informed us that Tetch and his female accomplice, whose identity was revealed to be Alysyn McArthur, were the ones responsible for the bank and jewelry store heists that took place in the past couple of days. McArthur, whose parents had been brutally murdered over two months ago in a Congregationalist community, appears to be working with Tetch of her own accord, according to authorities."_

"Of course I am, you imbeciles!" Alyce exclaimed hotly from her seat on the couch as she watched the late morning news.

Jervis was sitting next to her reading the paper. He looked up and over with raised eyebrows at his companion's remark.

"Do they think you control _everyone_ you come across? I mean, seriously," Alyce went on, looking like she wanted to hex someone.

Jervis chuckled. "I'm flattered, my dear, that you feel so protective of me. Unfortunately, though, the media tends to construe mostly everything."

"No shit."

"Language, my dear," Jervis said with a slight frown.

"Sorry. It just ticks me off," Alyce apologized.

"Quite all right. I just take what the media says with a grain of salt anymore. You should too. It will help you keep your temper."

Alyce sighed and turned back to the news.

"_Many questions have arisen due to what Tetch and McArthur have done. One of them is why did they kill three people, injure several others, steal cash and jewelry only to give it back to the citizens of Gotham? Has McArthur turned Tetch into a Wonderland-themed 'Robin Hood', of sorts? Or does the Wonderlandian Criminal Duo have something darker in store for the city? Next up—"_

"Wonderlandian Criminal Duo…I like that…" Jervis said, the newspaper he was reading now resting in his lap. "Hehe, and what's more is that your idea seems to have worked. Everyone is frabjously confused."

Alyce grinned broadly and turned off the television before she replied, "Yep. Now it should be easier to lure the Jabberwocky into our midst."

"Exactly, my bright-minded beauty. Not to mention it will be harder for him and the police to track our next move."

"Unpredictability. Gotta love it."

Jervis smiled. "So…did the Jabberwocky find your trap?"

"_Someone_ did, though I couldn't tell if it was him or someone else," Alyce answered, moving an uncooperative strand of dark hair out of her eyes.

This was true. Preset wards and traps don't tell the caster who sets them off, only that they are tripped.

"I see…I do hope it was the Jabberwocky," Jervis said, pausing and giving his girlfriend a curious look before going on, "You know, there is still so much I'd like to learn from you, my dear. For instance, you told me that you travel through a different plane of existence when you blink. What do you mean by that?"

Alyce smiled, shifted in her seat so that she could look at him better, and answered, "Well, first, you need to know that there are seven different planes of existence in the universe that interconnect with each other, separated by vibration frequencies. We live on the physical plane, which has a low vibration."

When Jervis looked at her confusingly, she added, "Like I told you, it's hard to explain, but I'll do my best."

She paused for a moment, took in a breath, and continued, "See, each plane of existence has varying levels of energy vibrations. The physical plane has a low vibration, and can actually be considered 'Hell', along with the other, lower planes. The higher planes can be considered 'Heaven' because they vibrate at much higher frequencies and are very beautiful, peaceful places to be, with much less conscious thought jargon that makes the lower planes seem dark and gloomy. The astral plane is one step up from the physical. It mirrors our plane of existence and harbors ghosts and other non-physical entities. That's the plane I travel through when I blink. It's the easiest one to tune my energy into right now, until I learn to tune in higher."

There was a long moment of silence as Jervis looked at her, and then, "The astral plane is a duplicate of the one we actually live on?"

"Yes. For instance, we have an astral hideout in the astral plane. What happens when I blink is that my body vibrates at a higher frequency than it does right now, allowing me to, as you put it, dematerialize and travel quickly through the astral counterpart of wherever I am before rematerializing back in the physical plane of existence. Time is much different in the astral realm, so that's why blinking happens as fast as it does."

"That is all very confusing – more, even, than how my devices work," Jervis said after a minute of letting this information sink in. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked."

Alyce laughed, and he couldn't help but chuckle a little himself. Jervis wasn't a particularly religious person – more agnostic – so he really didn't know if there was a Heaven or a Hell. Though there have been many times he felt like he was in Hell. The more he thought about it, the more the information Alyce gave him made sense. He didn't completely understand it, and Jervis got the sense that there was more to these planes of existence than what his lover told him.

"I know there has to be more to these 'planes' than what you just told me."

"There is, but you're all ready confused enough as it is. I don't want you having an aneurism from information overload," Alyce replied, her last sentence being more of a joke than actual seriousness.

"Then some other time, perhaps," Jervis said, turning a corner of his mouth up in a small grin.

Alyce grinned as well, and replied, "Perhaps, though I will tell you that all of us visit the astral when we sleep. It's where dreams come from."

Jervis raised his red eyebrows. "Really? Interesting…"

There was a long pause as Jervis thought all of this over. Alyce was right – magic is a lot like science. In fact, he could almost say that it _is_ a form of science. Magic deals with raw, natural energy. Magic-users are able to harness and control this raw energy in the universe, which seems to affect the electromagnetic spectrum in some way, which is why lights, sparks, and sounds accompany certain spells. It's also why Alyce had said she wasn't sure how long the magically imbued devices would last. If magic affects the electromagnetic spectrum, it could cause things like radios, televisions, and computers to act as an antenna for the raw magical energy and make them short out if the energy field is high enough – much like a nuclear device. Some serious energy is being dealt with when it comes to magic, and Jervis couldn't help but be scientifically fascinated.

Then there was the concept of other, unseen dimensions interconnecting with each other. This falls in line with the raw energy. The universe is a mysterious place, full to the brim with things yet to be discovered. Earth's own oceans and seas have only been skimmed because no one has been able to create a vehicle that can travel deep enough to fully explore them. Therefore, who's to say that the Earth and the universe in general do not have these normally unseen "planes of existence"? Energy is everywhere and in everything, so it's very feasible to assume that peoples' consciousnesses do, in fact, move to another level that is considered supernatural, i.e., become ghosts in the astral plane.

Jervis could have pondered a lot more and could come up with a lot more theories on the subject of magic, but was interrupted by Alyce getting up, hooking a set of small speakers to her MP3 player, and turning it on. What sounded to Jervis like a bunch of noise blared from the device, and he cringed.

"What in the world do you call this stuff?"

Alyce smirked. "I call it music. You don't like metal or rock much, do you?"

Jervis shook his head. "To be honest, no. I prefer classical, easy listening, and Old-School stuff – like the Beatles and Jefferson Airplane. Have you ever heard 'White Rabbit'?"

"Yes, actually, I have. My parents listened to fifties, sixties, and seventies music, so I kind of grew up with it. I don't have it on my MP3 player, though," Alyce replied, bobbing her head to the music that was currently playing. "You should listen to the words of this song, Jervis. You might discover that rock and metal really isn't all that bad…"

Jervis gave her a doubtful look, but complied nonetheless. He perked his ears as he listened past the noise called music and heard the words within.

"_I am watching the rise and fall of my salvation.  
There's so much shit around me,  
Such a lack of compassion.  
I thought it would be fun and games (would be fun and games).  
Instead it's all the same (it's all the same).  
I want something to do.  
I need to feel the sickness in you._

_I feel the reason as it's leaving me, no not again.  
It's quite deceiving as I'm feeling the flesh make me bad._

_All I'll do is look for you.  
I know your fix you need it to  
Just to get some sort of attention, attention._

_What does it mean to you?  
For me it's something I just do.  
I want something.  
I need to feel the sickness in you._

_I feel the reason as it's leaving me, no not again.  
It's quite deceiving as I'm feeling the flesh make me bad._

_I feel the reason as it's leaving me, no not again.  
It's quite deceiving as I'm feeling the flesh make me bad._

_Does it make me bad? Does it make me bad?"_ *

"No, it doesn't make me bad," Jervis commented once the song began to go into a repetitive chorus and fade out, indicating that it was ending. "Reason is so overrated."

******

Later that night, Theresa Bonham scryed for Alyce. Batman had come to her a few nights ago experiencing vivid hallucinations. After using a detection spell on him, she found that he had been the victim of a spell trap. She immediately knew this was Alyce's doing, and proceeded to break Batman of the hex. Afterwards, the Dark Knight asked for her help in finding and taking her ex-friend and the Mad Hatter down.

At first, she was reluctant, but after she thought it over, she decided she would help, but only to keep Alyce from hurting others. However, before she told Batman where Alyce was, she wanted to personally visit the woman to try and talk sense into her one last time. Theresa knew what would happen to Alyce if she and Batman teamed up to take her down. She would end up in Arkham with the Hatter, and she really didn't want to see that happen.

The pendulum she was using over the map of Gotham City swirled rapidly in Theresa's fingers before it abruptly stopped on a point in the Warehouse District.

"Got you, girl," she said to herself before grabbing her lightweight denim jacket and heading out of her apartment.

Before she left in her beat-up 1997 blue Chevy Cavalier, she cast a charm over herself in case the Dark Knight decided to tail her. She needed to speak with Alyce alone, after all, and didn't need the Bat's interference. He would only ruin things.

******

Theresa arrived at the coordinates the scrying crystal gave her within twenty minutes without anyone following her. She guessed Batman had other matters to attend to this evening, which was just fine with her. The man seemed like a bit of a hard-ass, which she had to admit was probably the reason the Rogues hated him so much. Theresa really didn't care for his attitude that was for sure. Getting out of the car, she took in a deep breath and approached the closest door she saw. When she was in front of the metal entrance, she took another deep breath before knocking loudly.

'_Wonder where they sleep in this old, rundown place. And does it even have a bathroom with a shower?'_ she thought before the door was practically slammed open.

"Ah...Mary-Ann…how lovely to see you, my dear. Won't you come in?" the Mad Hatter asked with a malicious grin and pointing what Theresa assumed was a loaded gun at her.

Theresa stepped back a little, her heart beginning to beat a bit rapidly, before she took yet another deep inhalation and asked, "Where's Alyce? I need to speak with her."

The Hatter frowned, but yelled, "Alyce! You have a visitor, my sweet! If you come any closer, I'll take your head."

Hatter stared at her with the same grin he had when he first greeted her, and it unnerved her. His blue eyes were cold, calculating, and seemed to glitter with madness. A few moments of this uneasy silence passed until Alyce appeared. Upon seeing Theresa, a scowl came over her ex-friend's face, and she crossed her arms. Every time Alyce looked at her like that, it made her feel guilty just a little bit more.

"What are you doing here, Theresa?" she asked tersely.

"Yes, do tell us, Mary-Ann. However did you find us?" Hatter added.

"Scrying," Theresa answered simply, eyeing Alyce's "Alice" dress with something akin to amusement.

She'd seen the outfit after Alyce had made it for Halloween last year. Go figure she would wear it to fit in with the Hatter's theme.

When Hatter got a confused look upon his face, Alyce said, "I'll explain later, Jervis."

Theresa raised a black eyebrow. "On a first name basis with him now, are you?"

Alyce rolled her eyes, and replied, "Yes. If you must know, we're together. Now, what do you want? You better not have led the Jabberwocky here."

"Is that what you two call Batman? No, I didn't lead him here…yet. I know he didn't follow me, either; otherwise, the tracking charm would have alerted me. I just came here to talk, Alyce."

"I'm not going back to a normal life, Theresa, if that's what you're here for," Alyce said with a heavy sigh. "Aren't you getting tired of not truly fitting in with normal society?"

Theresa hung her head a little. "Honestly? Yes, I am, but I don't want to be putting our fellow witches and warlocks in danger of being hunted. That's what I'm afraid will happen if you continue on the path you're on. Why can't you just use your magic for good, Alyce?"

She practically demanded this last part before sighing deeply and running a hand through her short black hair.

Alyce's face softened a little – just a little – and she answered, "Because this has happened to me for a reason. You know things happen for a reason, Theresa. Some of us witches are meant to be good, others evil, and others neutral. High Priest David is a Necromancer. I wouldn't call that necessarily good, yet you don't seem to have a problem with him. High Priestess Jennifer is a neutral witch. She goes both ways. Do you even know what you are, Theresa?"

Theresa thought for a moment with a furrowed brow. Honestly, she never thought about it. She liked to think that she was a good witch, but was that what she was supposed to be?

"I...I've never thought about it…"

Alyce smirked. "You don't know, then."

"Look," Theresa said sternly, not wanting to be open to manipulation. "Batman came to me a few days ago experiencing hallucinations. After using a detect magic spell on him, I discovered that he was the victim of a spell trap."

Upon saying this, the Hatter got a large, happy grin on his face.

"It worked, my sweet! _Very_ good…" he said before switching his gun from one hand to the other.

"Jervis, put the gun away, won't you? If she had intended harm upon us, she wouldn't be standing right now."

Hatter gave Alyce a narrowed look and asked angrily, "Why should I? She _hurt_ you! She doesn't deserve to be in your presence!"

"Hey, Alyce attacked me first. I was only using self-defense. Though I'm glad to know that you seem to truly care for her," Theresa said defensively, holding up her hands.

"Of course I care for her! I _love_ her!"

At this declaration, everyone went silent. Theresa saw Alyce look at him incredulously.

"Y-you…you love me, Jervis?" she asked almost shyly, like a schoolgirl who found out her crush actually liked her in return.

Hatter, who appeared like he hadn't wanted to say that out-loud, suddenly looked nervous.

"Uh, y-yes. I do. How could I not?" he answered, blushing furiously.

Theresa's eyebrows shot up with surprise.

'_A madman can love? Maybe Alyce wasn't too far off with her view of Gotham's Rogues after all…'_

Alyce gave the man a tender kiss on the cheek before turning back to Theresa.

"Got anything else to say, Theresa?" she asked with a hint of a smile, seeing the expression on said woman's face.

Theresa shook her head to rid herself of her surprise before she said, "I have to tell Batman where you two are. I'm sorry. He asked me to help him, and I'm going to. I've tried to make you see reason, but obviously, it's no use. Good-bye, Alyce. I hope you remain happy with the Hatter."

With that, she turned and walked towards her car.

Before she got in, she heard Alyce say a bit pleadingly, "Please, don't kill her, Jervis. She was my friend. She'll get what she deserves soon enough, but it won't be in the way of death."

* * *

**NOTE:** The * is for the song that Alyce and Hatter were listening to, which is "Make Me Bad" by Korn. Also, I apologize for taking so long to update. My life has been a bit...hectic lately. I cannot say when the next chapter will be up, so please bear with me.


	14. Just Say It!

"_Of course I care for her! I __**love**__ her!"_

This exclamation Jervis had uttered had stuck in Alyce's head for the past couple of days. The Mad Hatter had declared that he loved her in front of her ex-friend, and all she had done was give him a loving kiss on the cheek. She wasn't sure if she could say that she loved him in return just yet. It was strange, as she _felt_ like she loved him, but for some reason Alyce just couldn't bring herself to say it.

Alysyn sighed heavily as she gathered up the last of her occult items. They were moving to another hideout they had found on the East Side of Gotham. While out gathering new lackeys for "The Plan", Jervis had suggested a rather…unique course of action dealing with their current hideout; therefore, they needed to find another home – and quickly. Who knew when Theresa told the Jabberwocky where their hideout was? Neither Hatter nor Alyce had an idea of when he would inevitably arrive, so they thought it best to move fast.

"Alyce? Are you almost finished?" Jervis asked as he entered Alyce's altar room. "The Tweedles and our other friends have loaded the Jeep with the last of the furniture."

"Yeah, I'm almost done. Just finishing up now, as a matter of fact," Alyce answered, giving her lover a warm smile.

"Alyce, I…" Jervis began, pausing as if he didn't know how to continue. "I _do_ love you, you know."

He did love her. While they hadn't been together for very long, he had grown very fond of the brunette-auburn-haired young woman and her witchy ways to the point of not wanting to let her go. Jervis only wished that he had admitted that he loved her in a more romantic setting. Angrily telling her friend turned adversary instead of Alyce directly made him feel like a total nincompoop. It was no wonder his lover hadn't verbally reciprocated his feelings.

'_Though she did reciprocate in other ways once I had calmed down…'_ he thought with a grin.

After Mary-Ann had left that night, Jervis had been rightfully angry with Alyce for not letting him kill the little chit. However, after having a cup of soothing Chamomile tea and a calming shower, he had come to the realization that it didn't matter. It didn't matter if Mary-Ann led the Jabberwocky to them. They would just simply move and use their current hideout for a more…tactile and experimental purpose than was originally intended.

"Jervis, I…I have loving feelings for you, but…I'm not sure if I'm _in_ love with you," Alyce finally replied after several moments.

She had a look on her pretty face that Jervis took as her holding back on him. He furrowed his brow.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean, my dear," he said. "If you have loving feelings for me, doesn't that mean you are in love with me?"

Alyce sighed. "Jervis, the reason I haven't told you those three little words yet is because I'm still afraid you'll change your mind about me – that, for some reason, you'll decide you don't truly love me. I can't say it yet not because I don't, but because—"

His lips planting themselves on hers cut her off. They kissed deeply until neither one had the air to continue.

"How can you be afraid of such a thing, my Alyce?" Jervis asked breathily after they parted. "The moment I realized I actually cared for you was the moment you returned home to me beaten and broken. I'm sorry I hadn't told you sooner or in a more prestigious way, but I _do_ love you. I don't ever want to let you go."

"But what if I fail you at some point? What if I fail at helping you achieve your goals? Will you still love me then?" Alyce asked, her green eyes looking at him almost sadly.

Jervis frowned. "Of course I will! Achieving _our_ goals will take some trial and error – it always has. Even with you and your wondrous abilities at my side, there will always be trial and error before our goals are met. It's just the way things are, but it doesn't mean I will love you any less if you 'fail', Alyce."

Alyce lowered her head a little and nestled close to him. Now she felt a little guilty. Here Jervis was, practically pouring his heart out to her. All he wanted was for her to say that she loved him back, and she just couldn't say it.

Jervis frowned deeper than before and gently pushed Alyce away from him. He knew she loved him back. He could see it in her eyes, in her actions towards him, and especially when they made love. He just couldn't understand why she had a hard time saying it. What was holding her back?

His blue eyes searched hers before he sighed frustratingly, "Hurry up and get your things in the Jeep, Alyce. We don't need to be here when the Jabberwocky arrives."

******

"Miss Bonham? Have you found where Hatter and Miss McArthur are?" the deep gravelly voice asked from the shadows of Theresa's darkened apartment.

Theresa jumped at Batman's sudden appearance before she got an annoyed look upon her tanned face.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking? It's rude to just invade someone else's home without an invitation."

Batman narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

Theresa sighed and went on, "Yes, I have found their hideout. I'm surprised you haven't asked me sooner than this. They may not be there now."

"I've been busy," the Dark Knight grunted.

"Ah, that's right. I did hear that the Joker and his hench-wench were taken back to Arkham last night," Theresa said with a sly grin.

"Where are they?" Batman asked a bit harshly.

Theresa held up her hands defensively. "No need to get your cape in a ruffle. They're in an abandoned tea factory in the Warehouse District."

"Good. You're coming with me. Now," Batman said.

Theresa frowned. "You can't just order me around, Batman. Remember, I didn't offer to help you. _You_ came to _me_ for help."

The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes, and then asked gruffly, "Fine. Will you come with me and help?"

"Yes, I will," Theresa answered with a smirk. "Thank you for asking."

******

The Mad Hatter, Alyce, and the Tweedles unloaded the last of their belongings from the Jeep and carried them inside the rundown Queen of Hearts casino. They'd come across it during their "Robin Hood" gig, and Hatter had mentioned that it would make a good hideout. The place appeared to have been ransacked by a petty gang at one point, because bright-colored graffiti littered the walls, some of the slot machines left behind had been turned over on their sides, stripped of any remaining coins, chairs and tables were broken, alcohol bottles and glasses from the bar had been shattered or knocked off their shelves, and various other debris littered the floor. The office area seemed to be pretty well in tact, but the bathrooms were covered in more graffiti, mirrors had been splintered, and even some of the toilets had been destroyed.

"You know, it's going to take a lot of work to get our new home fixed up, Jervis," Alyce said, scrunching her nose up at the mess and setting her bag of occult items on an old, dusty Blackjack table.

"Hm, it's not that bad. It's nothing that we can't handle," Jervis replied.

His British-accented voice was a bit cold as he said this, and Alyce sighed. Ever since they had that talk a few hours ago, Jervis seemed frustrated and a bit distant. This didn't do anything to make Alyce feel less guilty, and she wished that she could just get the balls to tell him that she loved him too. The tension between them was starting to bother her.

"So…um…" Alyce began, unsure of how Jervis would respond to what she was about to ask. "When the wards go off, will we be going back to check it out?"

Jervis, who had been inspecting the debris, stopped and looked at her.

"Yes. I want to see the Jabberwocky struggling with our new friends. This is, after all, an experiment."

"Jervis, you don't have to be so cold," Alyce said, now becoming a bit frustrated herself.

"Why shouldn't I be, Alyce? I've poured my heart out to you, given you everything you've been wanting, and all I'm asking is for you to tell me how you feel! I know you care for me! I know you love me! What's holding you back? What are you afraid of?"

Jervis had closed the distance between them quickly as he said all of this and grabbed Alyce's arms tightly. His face was mere inches from hers as he glared dangerously, hurt and anger clearly evident on his worn face.

"You're hurting me, Jervis," Alyce said almost timidly. "Please…let me go."

"No! Say it!"

"…."

"SAY IT!!"

"FINE! I love you, Jervis! I love you, okay? I couldn't say it earlier because I _am_ afraid! Everyone I have loved I have lost! I was afraid that if I admitted I loved you, that somehow I would lose you too! I can't handle that! I can't handle anymore loss!" Alyce yelled back angrily, jerking away from Jervis' near vice-like grip.

Jervis' dangerous glare turned soft upon hearing her explanation.

He hung his head a little, apologizing, "I'm…sorry, Alyce. I didn't realize…didn't think…I'm sorry for being selfish."

Alyce's look of anger faded and she sighed. "It's okay. Heh, if you hadn't been so rough and demanding, I may never have told you. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

She then put a hand on his cheek to which he snuggled into before moving close and enveloping her in a loving embrace.

"I've been lonely nearly my entire life," Jervis said as he rubbed the small of Alyce's back, his chin resting gently upon the top of her head. "I don't want to be alone anymore. I need you, Alyce, and when you didn't verbally reciprocate my feelings, I…well…I wasn't sure what to think."

"I understand, Jervis. You're not alone anymore. I'm here for you, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," Alyce replied with a warm smile, cuddling into him.

Jervis then pulled away, gave her a curious look, and asked, "Would you like to dance?"

Alyce grinned. "I'd love to, though I'm not very good at it."

"Then I shall lead, my sweet."

He smiled at her, took a step back, and bowed before holding his hand out. Alyce took it, and Jervis led her in a waltz, whispering "1-2-3, 1-2-3" as they twirled about the room. His blue eyes never left Alyce's green ones. Suddenly, Alyce stumbled over a piece of debris, sending the couple tumbling to the ground. Alyce giggled after landing on top of Jervis.

"Thanks for breaking my fall," she said, straddling him with a playful grin.

Jervis chortled, put his hands on her hips, and squeezed lightly. "Mmmm…you're welcome, my dear."

Alyce was about to lean down and give him a kiss when she suddenly got a stunned look upon her features, causing Jervis to furrow his brow.

"What is it, Alyce?"

"The wards just went off. Someone's at the old hideout."

******

The Wonderlandian Criminal Duo and the Tweedles arrived back at the old tea factory in less than twenty minutes. Upon getting out of the Jeep, they noticed that the door beside the loading dock was wide open. They could hear commotion inside, which led them to believe that the lackeys they had left behind were in a brawl with someone. After all, the half a dozen henchmen had been ordered to attack anyone who wasn't Hater or Alyce.

Drawing his pistol, Jervis cautiously entered the recently vacated hideout and peered around. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw three of his magically-induced helpers – dressed as the White Rabbit, Bill the Lizard, and the Deuce of Hearts – sprawled unconscious on the ground, their control cards graciously snapped in two beside them. Shouts, grunts, and different colored lights came from the short corridor that led to the once-useable employee bathrooms, causing the Hatter's expression to turn sour.

"Come, Alyce. It's best we rise above," Jervis said, taking his companion's hand in his and guiding her up to the old, makeshift apartment.

Once they were inside the raised area of the factory, they gazed out the large window overlooking the floor. No sooner had they locked themselves in there, did they see the Jabberwocky being hurled from the small corridor and into the main floor, landing solidly on his back. The bat symbol on his chest was smoking, and he appeared to be having a hard time getting back up. Hatter grinned, flicking the brim of his hat firmly with his fingers. The Tweedles, who had trailed in after the Wonderlandian Duo, ran over to the fallen Batman and grabbed his arms.

Opening up the window the couple was peering out of, Hatter yelled down, "I'm glad you could join us, Jabberwock! Tell me, do you think you can fend off five of my henchmen all by yourself?"

Just then, another one of his henchmen – dressed as another playing card – was tossed out of the corridor and knocked unconscious. An angry, disheveled, limping Theresa followed suit, her right hand aglow with a purple energy.

"Ah! Mary-Ann! So good of you to join us as well," Hatter spouted, though he was sporting a heavy sneer.

"Tetch! McArthur!" Batman graveled as he was hauled roughly to his feet. "Give yourselves up. No one needs to get hurt."

"On the contrary! You see, Mary-Ann hurt my lovely Alyce, and you have been my tormentor for these past few years. I'm afraid that I can't allow either of you to walk out of here unscathed," Hatter replied, a devilish grin forming on his lips.

He flicked his hat again, and whomever Theresa hadn't taken out in the corridor, which happened to be a guy dressed as the Frog Messenger, and a woman dressed as the Cheshire Cat, appeared behind the angry and injured magic-user. The four lackeys surrounded Batman and Theresa, ready to let loose the magic they'd been imbued with.


	15. Fights and Illusions

So far, this wasn't turning out too well. Four of their henchmen were down for the count – three of them permanently, since their control cards had been snapped. The unconscious one was going to take a bit of prodding from the Hatter to get her back up and moving again. Jervis had planned on doing much more with the Jabberwocky and Mary-Ann, but unfortunately, he hadn't expected either of them to best half of his "hired", powered-up help.

'_Well, it's a good thing I took extra measures before we completely emptied the place out,'_ Hatter thought impishly. _'Now if only those fools would get the goody-goodies…'_

He sighed irritably as he watched the Frog Messenger push his arms forward. A heavy blast of water missed Batman and hit Theresa in the stomach, knocking her down. The woman recovered fairly quickly and moved her hands elaborately, making a red light shoot from them. It hit its target, causing the Frog Messenger to stiffen, as though frozen, but without the ice, and fall face-first onto the concrete. Batman immediately grabbed the control card sticking out of the costume's collar and broke it in two.

Alyce, meanwhile, was running things through her mind as she watched things unfold with a frown. She was thinking of ways to best Batman and her ex-friend. Frankly, Alyce didn't care if the Jabberwock died, but Theresa was a whole other matter. Something told her not to let her be killed. Call it a gut instinct, a voice in her head, or whatever, she just felt that if she allowed Theresa to be taken out permanently, she would ultimately regret it in the long run.

A stray fireball from one of the Tweedles hit the window they were gazing out of. Luckily, they were smart enough to close it after Hatter had said what he needed to say. Hatter jumped back as the ball of flame made contact with the glass before abruptly dispersing. Alyce, on the other hand, didn't seem to be fazed at all, grinning as the person dressed as the Cheshire Cat blinked behind Batman, punched him in the small of the back, blinked in front of him, and kneed him in the chin. This blow knocked the Jabberwock back a few feet thanks to the enhanced strength Jervis' devices normally gave his controlees.

Suddenly, Batman flipped forward just before the Cat was ready to blink again, and used both of his feet to kick the henchman squarely in the chest and knocking him to the floor. Alyce saw Theresa deflect a fireball with a wave of her hand before muttering something and waving a hand at the Cheshire Cat. The Cat tried to blink, but only managed to shimmer a bit.

"Damn it! She used a binding charm on the Cat!" Alyce cursed. "Jervis, either we need to get out of here, or I'm going to have to intervene."

Jervis frowned. "If Mary-Ann wasn't helping that Jabberwocky…"

"I know, but I don't want to seriously hurt her. She needs to stay alive. She _was_ my friend, after all. Besides, I need an adversary. You have Batman, and I'd get bored if I didn't have Theresa to play with," Alyce replied.

Sighing with slight frustration, the Hatter said, "I hope you know what you're doing, my dear. I don't like that you're so willing to let her walk away, but if it will make you happy, then so be it."

Alyce gave him a kiss on the cheek before quickly telling him what she had in mind. Seemingly liking the idea, Jervis grinned and called the two remaining henchmen – the Tweedles – off of Batman and Theresa. Then, Alyce took his hand and blinked them down to the good guys' level.

"You want us, Batman? Well, here we are," Alyce said to the Dark Knight and Theresa, who were in defensive stances, ready to take them on. "You can have us…if you can figure out which of us is the real-deal."

She said this last part with a maniacal grin before muttering an incantation under her breath. The moment the short incantation ended, Batman and Theresa were graced with three sets of Hatter and Alyce!

"What the…" Batman started.

"It's an illusion, Batman," Theresa said, narrowing her eyes.

The three Wonderlandian Duos blinked around the vigilante and his magical helper before one of the sets launched towards them. The Hatter of this set lunged towards the Dark Knight, who easily sidestepped out of the way while at the same grabbing the lapels of the Hatter's green jacket. He threw the offending criminal to the ground, hard. The Hatter growled and got back to his feet before drawing his Colt .45, cocking the hammer, and taking aim. The gun fired, the bullet grazing Batman's arm.

"I thought you said this was an illusion!" Batman yelled to Theresa, who was busy defending herself from one of the Alyce's.

Huffing and puffing from dodging and returning various spells that were flying at her, Theresa said, "Illusions…UHN! Illusions can hurt – OW! – you unless you…DUCK! – unless you _**fully disbelieve**_ in them."

Narrowing his eyes, Batman roundhouse kicked the gun out of the offending Hatter's hand. He then spun around to avoid Hatter's punch, only to come around and land a solid punch of his own, hitting him square in the jaw. The Hatter went down, but immediately stood back up to take some more.

"This isn't the real Tetch. He would have went down with that punch," the vigilante commented, dodging a knee to the groin.

"What's the matter, Jabberwock! Afraid I may have somehow become stronger? Perhaps even supernaturally inclined?" the Hatter he was fighting asked with a diabolical smirk.

Suddenly, the Dark Knight was grabbed from behind, his arms pinned.

"Yes, Jabberwock. Do tell us. Are you dreaming, or merely part of someone's dream?" One of the other Hatters said while the other one began punching the vigilante in the face.

Meanwhile, Theresa was fending off two of the Alyce's.

"I'm trying to remember the damned spell for dispelling illusions!" she exclaimed as she ducked a fireball, then immediately jumped out of the way of a lightning bolt.

"HOLD STILL!" both Alyce's screamed as they drew the energy to make another attack.

'_Dammit! What __**is**__ that freaking spell?!'_ Theresa thought frustratingly as she dodged the Alyces' attacks and sending her own, to which they dodged as well. _'It's not the same one I used to get rid of Batman's hallucinations, but it's similar…wait…that's it!'_

"Illusions that are here, be gone and clear!" she exclaimed with a dramatic waving of her hands.

As soon as Theresa uttered the incantation, the two Alyces disappeared – right before they were ready to attack again. The two Hatters vanished as well, but in their place were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Batman managed to kick Dum away from him, but was still being held by Dee, and was beginning to weaken. Theresa readied a stunning spell, but was reluctant to throw it in case she accidentally hit Batman.

"Get McArthur!" Batman ordered, struggling futilely with Dee.

Sneering a little at the order, but listening nonetheless, Theresa looked around for Alyce, and just as she turned around, a two-by-four was the last thing she saw. The black-haired woman fell to the concrete, unconscious.

Batman's eyes widened slightly as he saw Alyce standing over top of Theresa with the offending object in her hands. An evil grin was playing on her full lips. A well-planted heel to Dee's groin dropped the thug like a ten-ton brick. The vigilante whipped around, grabbed the control-card out of Dee's beanie, and snapped it in half. Next, he grabbed a lunging Dum and used his momentum to throw him solidly into the wall, knocking him out. Wiping the blood from his nose and mouth, the Dark Knight turned, only to be struck with a spell from Alyce.

The spell hit its mark, plastering Batman to a support column via a magical, sticky web. The Dark Knight struggled, but it was no use. He could barely even move.

"It's no use struggling, Batman," Alyce said with a smirk and putting her arms around Jervis, who grinned maniacally.

"Yes, my dear Jabberwock. It's been fun, but I'm afraid we must take our leave. Don't _blow your top_, now," Jervis added, looking to a Cheshire Cat clock situated on the base of the raised ex-apartment. "Twenty minutes and counting, Jabberwock!"

He then grabbed Alyce's hand and led her towards the exit, reciting, "'One, two, one, two, the vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead and with it's head, he went galumphing back!'"

This was followed by a maniacal laugh. Alyce raised a dark eyebrow, but couldn't help but grin. Jervis was rather cute when he acted all quirky…

As they were leaving, Alyce heard Theresa groan and saw her slowly beginning to stir.

'_Good, she'll make it out in time. I hope…'_

******

A few minutes after Hatter and Alyce left, Theresa fully came to, groaning loudly and putting a hand to the side of her head. She looked around and gasped when she spotted Batman struggling within the bonds of a magical web.

"Miss Bonham! Are you all right?" the Dark Knight asked from his place on the support column.

"Uhnnn…I think so. What happened?"

"There's no time. Hatter's got this place rigged to blow, and I can hardly move. I need your help," Batman answered. "Can you cut the webbing enough to reach my laser cutter in my utility belt?"

Theresa took a second to think. From what she'd read, magical webs were very hard to cut with a simple knife. Perhaps her cutting hex would work.

"Yes, I think so. Which side is it on, and what compartment?"

She approached the Dark Knight quickly, and got ready to use her spells.

"Your left, third compartment back," the vigilante replied.

They had fifteen minutes left.

Theresa worked fast, using her cutting hex to hack through the thick, sticky, magical substance. It took about two minutes before she was even able to get through. Finally, she reached the compartment with the laser cutter.

"Good. Get my hands free," Batman ordered.

Theresa didn't argue, and got to work on freeing Batman's hands with his own device. It took roughly four minutes to get both of his hands free. Batman had Theresa give him the cutter while she used her magic to work on releasing his feet and legs. Six minutes later, Batman was completely free of the magical web.

The Dark Knight put a hand on Theresa's shoulder and said, "Get out of here, Miss Bonham."

Theresa looked to the victims Hatter and Alyce had controlled, then back to the vigilante.

"Don't worry. I'll get them out of here," he said.

"But…"

"Go. Now!"

Without another word, Theresa fled from the building as fast as she could with her dislocated leg and a pounding headache. Her car had been cloaked by magic so that the "Wonderlandian Duo", as they were now being called, wouldn't be alerted to her presence. Waving her hand, the cloaking charm vanished, revealing her beat up Chevy Cavalier. She got into the car without hesitation and sped off to a safe distance before pulling over into another empty parking lot to gather her bearings and think.

She looked at her watch. Thirty seconds until the building was suppose to blow.

'_I hope you've made it out of there, Batman,'_ she thought.

Theresa looked at her watch again, and this time, began to count down.

"Five…four…three…two…one…"

_**KABOOM!!**_

The old tea factory and warehouse went up in an almost beautiful display of fire, smoke, and debris. Theresa couldn't help but stare in horrified-fascination.

'_I guess Alyce wasn't lying when she said that she wanted to be free. She no longer has any regard for anyone but herself and that Hatter. Still…I can't help but be just a bit envious of her…'_

Theresa continued to stare on for a few moments longer until she sighed heavily and pulled out a map of Gotham from her glove compartment. Along with the map, she also pulled out a scrying crystal. Holding the crystal over the open map, she began to concentrate on Alyce. The crystal began to swing around in rapid circles, and a minute later, she stopped on a point in the East Side of the city.

"Her energy signals are still strong," Theresa mused out-loud, putting the map and crystal on the passenger's seat.

Putting the still-idling car into gear, she took off towards the coordinates the scyring crystal had given her. She had to stop Alyce before her magic hurt anyone else and put magic-users in danger of going through another "Witch Trials" era. This was Theresa's greatest fear throughout this whole ordeal. From the time Alyce had said she joined the Hatter, she'd had this nagging fear that people would do to magic-users what the people in that Pennsylvanian community did to Alyce's parents.

"I have to stop you, Alyce. Even if I have to temporarily bind your powers…I just hope it doesn't come down to that."

* * *

**NOTE:** Another cliffhanger. Yeah, I know, I'm evil. Hehehe... =) Nah, actually, I intended for this chapter to be at least eight pages long in Word, but I decided to break them up and extend the chapters out. I've told a few people that there'd be only two more chapters to go last time. Well, I opted to build more suspense, I suppose. LOL! Anyway, thanks for reading! I'll try and have the next chapter out A.S.A.P. =)


	16. Defeat

"You performed splendidly, my sweet," Jervis complimented as he and Alyce entered their new hideout at the Queen of Hearts Casino.

Alyce blushed and gave him a smile, but didn't respond. Jervis noticed that she had been rather quiet since they'd left the Jabberwocky and Mary-Ann to be blown-up. He frowned a little, concerned for his lover.

Coming up behind her and putting his arms gently around her waist, Jervis smiled into her dark hair and said, "Don't worry, my dear. If it hadn't been for Mary-Ann, our devices would have exceeded themselves. They worked frabjously all the same."

Alyce sighed, leaning into him.

"It's not that, Jervis," she responded, sounding a bit troubled.

"Then what, pray-tell, is bothering my beautiful talking flower, hm?"

Alyce turned around and wrapped her arms around Jervis, who still held her, before she answered, "I'm not entirely sure, Jervis. I keep getting this nagging feeling – almost as if something is going to happen to me. I can't really explain it."

Jervis furrowed his brow with worry. How could she think this? They succeeded in trapping the Jabberwocky, Alyce bested Mary-Ann, and they'd gotten away completely unscathed. Granted, they had lost the controlling devices and their lackeys in the process, but at least they knew that their experiment worked. How, then, could she possibly think that something was going to happen to her?

'_I suppose there's still so much more to learn about the spiritual and supernatural world…'_

"Well then…" Jervis replied after a moment, pulling away a little so he could look into his lover's eyes. "Why do you think you're feeling this?"

She didn't answer for several moments, but when she did, Alyce said, "Because of the way I'm using my magic."

"You shouldn't let that tart of an ex-friend get to you. If Metas can use their powers without being persecuted, then magic-users should be able to do the same."

"I suppose so," Alyce replied. "But magic works a bit differently. Unlike Metas, we magic-users can be stripped of our powers if the gods see fit to do so."

This statement took Jervis aback. How could the so-called gods do that to a person? That would be like taking away his knowledge of neuroscience. Jervis could also say that it would be like taking away his very _soul_. Who are the gods to decide whether a witch or warlock is worthy to keep his or her powers? You just can't strip someone of something they've known or done their whole lives. It would ruin them.

Jervis was becoming very angry at the mere thought of this, and apparently, his anger was showing plainly on his face because Alyce said, "I can't say for certain if that's what will happen, Jervis, but I do feel that something is going to happen to me. It could very well just be that, deep down, I know I'll eventually end up in the same place you've been incarcerated in at some point down the line."

"Heh, still, this information does not bode well. How can your 'gods' do such a thing?" Jervis asked, looking like he wanted to shoot someone.

"They're gods, Jervis. They have the right. After all, it is they who have granted us magic-users our powers at birth."

Jervis sighed, reluctantly succumbing to Alyce's logic.

He looked at her peacefully for a moment, and then, "Arkham isn't all that bad, you know. Mundane, yes, and some of the guards and orderlies can be quite…rude at times, but it's not so bad. I wouldn't worry about it. We trapped the Jabberwocky in a building that went up in a spectacular display. _If_ he somehow managed to escape and we get captured, you may not even end up there with me. Though I have to shamefully and selfishly admit, it would be nice to be there with you. I'm sure we can get some recreation time together."

He chuckled a little to try and lighten the mood. Alyce, to her credit, gave a small, but genuine smile before leaning up and giving Jervis a kiss.

'_Mmm…there's my girl…'_

Closing his eyes, Jervis reciprocated the kiss with a deep, loving caress. His tongue sought out hers, and when they met, he slowly took in her taste. Like the times they'd made love, he could almost feel her warm, passionate energy that was geared only towards him.

"I love you, my Alyce," he breathed once they parted for air.

He had a hand on her cheek, which he was now stroking lightly with his thumb. Alyce nuzzled into him while she coyly ran her finger down the buttons of his shirt and vest, stopping when she reached his pants' waistline.

"I love you, too, my Hatter," Alyce replied, giving him a warm look.

There was a small pause, and Jervis saw her flinch slightly. With no more lackeys to check things out, his companion's action made him a bit paranoid. He narrowed his blue eyes and looked around the streetlight and moonlit main room of the hideout, looking for anything suspicious.

When he didn't see anything, he looked back at Alyce and asked, "What is it?"

"Theresa's scrying for me," she answered with a slight frown.

"What?! She made it out?!" Jervis nearly yelled, breaking his loving hold of Alyce and beginning to pace a little.

He sighed heavily before he stopped, turned to look at his companion, and asked, "Can you stop her from doing so?"

"Um…I'll try, but it might be too late."

Alyce then closed her eyes in concentration, and a few moments later, she popped them open, hanging her head a little.

"I couldn't stop her. The energy was too strong."

"Well, then I suggest we prepare. It won't take her long to get here," Jervis said. "Erm…she can't teleport or anything, can she?"

Alyce shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of, no."

"Good. That gives us roughly ten minutes, providing that she's still in the Warehouse District."

"What do you plan to do, Jervis?" Alyce queried, looking as though she really didn't want to have to fight anymore this evening.

Jervis grinned despite his lover's weary look. "Surprise her. We'll stay right where we are. After all, I doubt the Jabberwocky made it out in time."

He then paused, staring hard at Alyce, before going on, "Unless she helped him escape."

It was now Alyce's turn to sigh heavily. "Jervis please don't look at me like that. How was I supposed to know that she'd wake up before the building exploded? I knocked her out with a two-by-four, for gods' sakes!"

"You're a witch, are you not? I thought witches were supposed to know everything."

"Well we don't, okay! I'm a _young_ witch! There's still quite _a lot_ I need to learn!" Alyce yelled, her normally soft face twisting angrily.

"I'm sorry," Jervis said after a moment. "I just…don't want to go back to that prison. Not yet, at least. You and I are just getting better acquainted. We just admitted that we loved one another, and I'd like to spend as much of my freedom with you as I possibly can."

Alyce didn't get a chance to say anything, because the next thing the Wonderlandian Duo knew was that Theresa blew out the large-paned windows of the rundown casino. Glass sprayed everywhere, causing Hatter and Alyce to split up and duck for cover. Jervis drew his pistol, cocked the hammer, and began firing randomly around the room. Of course, he made sure that Alyce would be safe – and she was, securely crouched behind a blackjack table a few down from his own.

"I have to stop you, Alyce! You have no regard for anyone but yourself and that madman you're with! I cannot let you continue to harm others!" Jervis heard Theresa yell from somewhere in the room.

Alyce, meanwhile, couldn't see her ex-friend, but she could sense her and certainly hear her.

'_Chameleon charm…'_ she thought, squinting her eyes to try and see the rippling of air molecules that would give away Theresa's location.

A chameleon charm was almost like an invisibility potion, only instead of going completely invisible; the chameleon charm let you blend in with your surroundings. You actually took on the patterns and colors of your surrounding environment.

'_Fine. Theresa wants to play rough and tough? I have an easy way of finding her.'_

Closing her eyes, Alyce muttered an incantation under breath, and when she opened them, she could see the bluish-white outline of her ex-friend.

'_I love detect magic spells…'_

She looked over at Jervis, who was giving her a stern gaze, almost as if trying to telepathically communicate something to her. Alyce furrowed her brow even as she gestured towards the area Theresa was in. Jervis cocked his head, the reddish glow of his hatband making him appear somewhat odd. There was something else about him that she could see with her detect-magic eyes as well. A very faint purplish-blue aura was surrounding him.

'_What…? No, I would have sensed it before, wouldn't I?'_ Alyce asked herself before shaking her head a little and returning to the task at-hand. _'That is something I will have to look into later. Right now, I need to take care of Theresa. Jervis is counting on me, and I don't want to be put in prison yet either.'_

Jervis aimed his gun in the general direction that Alyce had pointed to, while Alyce quietly moved along the small blackjack table out of sight to get a better vantage point to work from. As she moved, however, a piece of glass cracked beneath her hard-soled moccasins. Alyce cringed even as Theresa fired another small explosion spell. This splintered the blackjack table she was hiding behind to a hundred pieces, and Alyce had to literally dive and roll to another safe spot just to avoid the fireball that followed.

Gunshots were the next thing to be heard as Jervis reloaded his gun and began firing towards the spot he had been aiming at.

'_How could things have gone this wrong? How did I lose control?!'_ the Hatter wondered frustratingly, emptying his clip into the wall, hitting nothing but air. _'We should have taken more time to plan and prepare. Theresa is no Mary-Ann. She is a Boojum!'_

"'But if I ever meet with a Boojum, in a moment (of this I am sure), I shall softly and suddenly vanish away – and the notion I cannot endure!'" Jervis cried out suddenly, standing from his hiding spot and firing his pistol wildly once again.

As Jervis unloaded another clip, Alyce rose from her new hiding spot and shot a lightning bolt from her right hand. The magical bolt of lightning grazed Theresa's shoulder, causing her to become visible as she lost her concentration on the chameleon charm.

"Glad you can be seen, Theresa!" the Wonderlandian warlock – as she could no longer be considered a good witch – exclaimed.

Theresa glared brown-eyed daggers at her ex-friend, and spat, "If this is the path you've chosen, then you will be taken down!"

With that, the black-haired witch waved her arms in an elaborate arc. When she thrust her hands forward, a purple energy erupted and raced along the floor in a linear fashion, destroying everything in its path. Alyce's eyes widened slightly even as she dove out of the way. As she dove, she threw her left hand out, tossing a lightning ball towards her adversary. The lightning ball hit its mark dead in the chest, sending Theresa flying through one of the broken windows and out onto the street. Several cars came to a screeching halt, some crashed into each other, and passing pedestrians stopped to ask if she was okay. Theresa staggered up and waved them off, telling them to get out of there before someone got hurt. Alyce smirked.

"You always were the goody-goody out of the two of us, weren't you, Theresa?" she asked as she vaulted over the windowpane to join the woman out in the open.

"And you were always the more…diabolical one," Theresa responded, getting ready for another attack. "I'm glad that you've found what you're looking for, but you will have to pay for what you're doing somehow."

"You know, I should have listened to Jervis. I didn't want to kill you, but if you're so intent to stop me, then you leave me no choice," Alyce said grimly.

In that moment, Alyce raised her arms high above her head. She could feel the electrical energy coming to her from the sky even as she threw down her arms as if slamming someone to the ground. When she did this, several lightning strikes rained down in the immediate area, blowing up cars, taking out chunks of buildings, and killing any straggling pedestrians that had been stupid enough to stay and watch events unfold.

Meanwhile, Jervis was watching this all with his mouth agape. His Colt .45 had been reloaded and was still at the ready in his hand as the lightning strikes nearly blinded and deafened him with their intensity.

'_Such power...and she's all mine…'_ he thought with an impish grin.

Suddenly, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Before he had the chance to turn around to see who it was, a black-gloved fist came sailing towards him. The punch hit him square in the jaw with a loud _**crack**_, sending him and his gun sprawling onto the floor. In that instant, Hatter knew who had interrupted his show. The Jabberwocky.

"I'm taking you back to Arkham, Tetch," the Dark Knight growled, reaching down and grabbing Jervis by the collar.

Hatter sneered. "You're very hard to kill, Jabberwock. Tell me, did you manage to get my puppets to safety, or did you leave them to burn? According to Alyce, that web spell should have been hard to break free of."

Batman gritted his teeth. "I had help. Your victims were lucky. I barely made it out of there."

"Then remind me to thank that Boojum, Theresa," Hatter replied sarcastically, knowing that defeat came a lot sooner than he had hoped.

"I'll be sure to thank her for you," Batman said before drawing back his fist and slamming it into the Hatter's nose, issuing a sickening _**crunch**_ that indicated the blow had broken it.

Hatter went limp, and the Dark Knight dropped him before tying his hands behind him.

"Jervis!" Alyce cried, seeing the Jabberwocky take out her lover.

The warlock hadn't seen whether Theresa survived the lightning bolts or not, as she had turned around to grab Jervis and run. However, what she saw made her heart skip a beat. The Batman had knocked Jervis out with little to no effort, and her emotions towards her companion urged her to go and help him. This was a mistake. As she vaulted back over the window to tend to Jervis, Alyce felt a heavy gust of wind at her back that hurled her back inside the casino. She landed face-first next to Jervis and right at Batman's feet.

"There. Now you have Alyce, Batman," the black-haired witch said tiredly.

Groaning a little with the force of her face-plant, Alyce asked, "You survived my lightning blasts? How?"

"I threw up a shield at the last moment. Unfortunately, the civilians in the area weren't so lucky. I managed to shield a few, though."

"Good work, Theresa," Batman praised gruffly. "Can you bind McArthur's powers?"

At this, Alyce's heart began to race and she struggled to get up.

'_I have to do something!'_ she frantically thought.

She tried to move, but found that her head was spinning and a sharp pain coursed through it with every sudden movement. Alyce cringed.

Theresa sighed heavily. "Yes, I can, but just so you know…I don't like doing this."

"It has to be done. Be thankful I'm not asking you to strip her of her powers."

"You're right, I should be thankful then. I wouldn't do such a thing. That would ruin her very soul, and it's not for me to decide whether she gets to keep her magic or not."

"If you two are done conversing as though I'm not even here, the least you could do is knock me out or something!" Alyce said angrily, rubbing her temples to try to get her impact headache to subside.

She tried to get up once again, but stumbled back down.

"Oooohhh…Jervis, do you have a jar of marmalade? Or perhaps a cup of tea will do. It was the best butter, but I'm afraid it still wasn't quite good enough…" she rambled.

Batman narrowed his eyes and reached into his utility belt, produced an injection needle, and plunged it into Alyce's neck. Alyce's vision almost instantly became blurry, and she looked over at Jervis one last time before everything went black.

******

She was floating, or at least, she felt like she was floating. Everything was dark, and the darkness seemed to last for a long time until white clouds and a blue sky began to emerge. She briefly saw both translucent and solid figures walking amongst the clouds. The translucent figures appeared to be unconscious and waiting in line, while the solid, colored figures embraced other ones joyously. She continued to float upwards, faster this time, until she was travelling at an alarming rate into the stars above. She closed her eyes as panic began to ensue, and the next time she opened them, she found herself in a massive library. It was old fashioned in nature, filled to the brim with old scrolls, thick leather-bound tomes, golden desks and chairs, and seemed have a crackling, positive glow about it. This strange new place was devoid of people except, most surprisingly…her deceased parents.

"Hello, Alysyn," her mother, Katherine, younger than she was when she passed, said with a serene yet sad smile upon her almost angelic face.

Her dark auburn hair fell just past her shoulders in soft waves, and her hazel eyes looked upon her warmly.

"Mom? Dad?" Alyce asked, uncertain of whom she was seeing.

Her father, William, also appeared younger with his less-gray shaggy brown hair and green eyes.

He nodded with the same smile as her mother's. "It's us, Alysyn."

Alyce hesitated for only a moment before rushing forward and embracing her parents.

"How? Am I…?"

William chuckled. "No, love, you aren't dead. Just unconscious."

"Oh…yes…I remember Batman pulling something out of his utility belt, and then everything went black. Then I was…floating, and the next thing I knew, I ended up here. Where is here?"

"You are in the Golden Temple of Wisdom on the Astral Plane, Alysyn," her mother answered, moving a strand of Alyce's own dark auburn hair out of her eyes and smiling gently.

"What am I doing here? I know why you guys are here, but I'm not…not going pass on…am I?"

"No," Katherine replied. "Your father and I summoned your consciousness here. There are things you must know and things we must iron out before our souls can be reincarnated."

"…I see…" was all Alyce could say to that.

"We know you are angry with us, Alysyn," her father said in his tone that often indicated a lecture of some sort was coming. "But you must know that if we didn't stay in that horrible, inexperienced 'spiritual' community, then the path the gods have predestined for you would not have come to pass."

When Alyce cocked her head in question, her mother explained, "We have taught you as much as we possibly could while on the physical plane, but there is still so much that even we have yet to learn. That is why we are here in the Temple. It holds knowledge from nearly the beginning of time up to the present. You will learn more about this Temple when the time is right."

"I still don't understand why you let them murder you," Alyce said, frowning.

"Alysyn, your path with Jervis Tetch was preset before you were born. You two had a past-life together, you know," her father said in response. "You are meant to help him in this life, as in your past, your fate together was cut short."

"So my feelings were right. I knew I knew him somehow. He felt so familiar to me when we first met. One day, I'll have to look into that past-life. Furthermore, I really _am_ meant to help him," said Alyce, now smiling genuinely.

Her parents nodded, and her father went on, "Yes, and before you ask, the gods will not strip you of your powers for the things you have done."

When Alyce looked at them curiously, her mother said, "We know what happens down there my dear. You are meant to help Jervis. We are not at liberty to tell you how or why, but rest assured the gods will not punish you. That is Theresa's job, and the reason she did not follow the same path as you."

"There truly is a reason for everything then, isn't there?" Alyce queried rhetorically.

She then paused, taking in her parents' appearance and calming auras, as well as the curious sound of ocean waves roaring in the background. This sound was familiar, as it was the sound that the Astral Plane gave off every time she was there.

"Are you happy? I mean…" Alyce began after a few moments.

Tears began to well up in her green eyes, but she managed to go on, "We never got to say good-bye. I miss you, mom and dad. I wish…I wish that we could have at least done that before you died."

Her mother smiled and wiped Alyce's tears from her cheeks, then cupped her daughter's face gently in her hands.

"My beautiful daughter…you will be fine. Jervis truly does care for you, and the others you have met like you well enough. Your magic will be unbound eventually. Remember, you have other magical acquaintances. Those people will help you."

Alyce then felt her father put a loving hand upon her shoulder.

"It's time, Alysyn," he said with a warm grin.

"Time for what?"

"Time for you to go back. The sedative is wearing off. Your mother and I will be in the Astral for quite some time – at least until we're ready to be recycled, of course. If you ever need to talk to us, just think of us once you get here. Remember, the Astral Plane is not just for blinking."

He said this last part with a mischievous twinkle in his own green eyes, and Alyce couldn't help but giggle at her father's sense of humor.

"I love you guys," she said, enveloping them in a hug once more.

"Goodbye, Alysyn," her mother said once they parted. "Like your father said, feel free to visit us whenever you feel the need."

"Thank you, mom," Alyce said, finally feeling some serenity work its way into her soul after all of the hurt and turmoil she'd gone through within the past couple of months. "Good-bye…for now…"

* * *

**NOTE:** Only one more chapter to go, folks! =D


	17. Down the Rabbit Hole

Jervis watched Alyce's unconscious form hunched across from him in the police transport van. He had woken up shortly after the police had arrived to cuff them and take them away. Although he had a pounding headache, his nose was throbbing, which indicated to him that it'd been broken, and they'd been defeated, he was still happy. Of course, he was sorely disappointed that they'd been captured so soon, but Jervis was happy because of two things.

The first was that he had finally, after many years of loneliness and emptiness, found his Alice. Sure, her name was spelled differently, but it was pronounced the same. Not that that fact mattered much. Alysyn has been the only woman who could understand him – who understood his line of thinking, thought his quirks were becoming, and just enjoyed being around him without really asking for a whole lot. Hell, he'd been the one to offer her freedom of mind and spirit – to be all that she is without letting social prejudices get in the way. She just went along for the ride and ended up gloriously falling for him in the process. Furthermore, his love had power. Lots of power. This led him to wonder how she ended up being captured herself.

The second thing he was happy about was that their experiment had worked. The devices that Alyce had magically imbued for him worked wonderfully. They were something he and his lover would definitely be creating again in the future. If it hadn't been for Theresa, the Jabberwocky would be no more, and they would be both revered and feared by the criminal community. Of course, Jervis knew that the Joker would have something to say about it, but with Alyce at his side, he had little to worry about. Yes, one day their dream of turning Gotham into a true Wonderland will be fulfilled. There was a lot of work to be done in order to get to that point, however; once certain people were weeded out and plans for turning the city into their dream were finished, it shouldn't be that hard to…persuade people to conform to new ways of thinking and doing things.

As he looked at his companion, Jervis noticed that, aside from a horrid bruise beginning to form on the right side of her delicate face, she was grinning.

'_I wonder what she's dreaming about. While I'm happy that things have turned out well, I'm not too happy about going back to Arkham. I'm certainly not smiling about it, at least. I hope she's dreaming about me…'_

A few minutes later, Alyce groaned and began to stir. The officer sitting beside her glanced over and readied his tazer in case she decided to try and get free of her bonds. Jervis narrowed his eyes and started to move, but a nightstick slapped across his chest from the officer sitting next to him stopped him from head-butting Alyce's watcher.

"You try anything, Tetch, and I'll beat you so hard you won't know today from tomorrow," his holding officer said threateningly.

Jervis just quirked a red eyebrow at the man, shrugged, and said amusingly, "I don't know today from yesterday, tomorrow from the next day, nor last week from next anyway. It won't be anything different, I'm afraid."

The officer rolled his eyes. "Freak. Though not as much of a freak as your little girlfriend over there."

He gestured over to Alyce, who was now wide-awake and seemingly staring off into space. Upon hearing Jervis' guard, though, she snapped her attention towards him, making her guard tense slightly and wrap his fingers even more tightly around his tazer. She appeared to try and summon up a spell, but nothing happened. She tried again, and again nothing. Alyce hung her head.

"My dear, whatever is wrong?" Jervis queried.

"My powers have been bound, Jervis. I can't use magic. I can feel it coursing through me, but it's being kept held in check," she answered with a sad sigh.

Jervis curled his mouth up in fury. Theresa. That Boojum was the cause of this new development. He just knew it. Why Alyce didn't listen to him in the first place was beyond him. He should have forced her to just kill her ex-friend turned adversary and been done with it. However, he knew that if he had done that, Alyce would probably never speak to him again. Besides, her free will is one of the things he loved about her. She listened to him up to a point, but she had her own way of doing things that wouldn't be the same if he had ended up controlling her. No, he liked her just the way she is, despite her little flaws.

'_Even I'm not perfect,'_ he thought wryly.

"Jervis? Would you believe me if I told you that I saw my parents just a little bit ago?" Alyce asked, that same melancholy smile she'd had when she was knocked out back upon her lips.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Just curious. I did, you know. Want to know what they told me?"

"Hey! No talking!" Jervis' officer exclaimed bossily.

"You're very rude," Alyce said to the man. "I wasn't talking to _you_. I was talking to _Hatter_. You can ignore us, you know."

Jervis grinned when the officer just glared at her. "You were saying, my dear?"

"My parents told me that my powers _will_ be unbound in the future. They didn't tell me when, but I imagine within the year. Also, they told me that the gods will _not_ strip me of my powers because my path with you was set before I was born. I really _am_ meant to be with you!"

At this exclamation, both officers rolled their eyes, but didn't say anything, deciding to let the mad people talk to each other. This wasn't exactly protocol, Jervis knew, but apparently, these guys didn't care. They, or at least he, were going to Arkham, so they probably figured that what their superiors didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"That's wonderful, Alyce!" Jervis cried out just as happily.

"Yeah. At least I know I won't lose my powers permanently…"

"Freaking Metas..." one of the guards muttered under his breath before they all heard a knock from the front of the van.

The metal window slid open and the driver said, "We're stopping off at police headquarters first to put McArthur in a holding cell until she's tried, then we're heading to Arkham. Get McArthur ready. We'll be at HQ in less than five minutes."

At this, Alyce looked over at Jervis with a slightly worried, scared demeanor.

"I've never had to go through this before. What's it like?"

Jervis, despite his own worries that she might not be put in Arkham with him, smiled comfortingly and answered, "It's mostly just a bunch of questions and answers, my dear. Tell them the truth, nothing but the truth and so on and so forth. The judge and jury will decide whether you are of sound mind or not, and the judge will give you his sentencing."

"How long will it be before I go on trial?"

She sounded as though tears were beginning to form, and Jervis' heart went out to her.

'_I wish I could just hold her right now. These Bandersnatches wouldn't let me, though. Ingrates.'_

"That depends, my love. First, they'll probably have someone evaluate your psyche. Then, you'll be given a lawyer or public defender. It took a couple of days before I first went on trial," Jervis replied.

"They don't have ginuea pigs as jurors do they? That would be awful. And I thought it was sentence first, verdict afterwards," Alyce said, her expression turning from scared to a bit sour.

Jervis chortled. "Ah, but you have all ready had your sentence."

"I suppose I have," Alyce commented. "I was sentenced when Theresa and the Jabberwocky looked upon me as a threat."

"Exactly," Jervis said with a grin.

The transport van came to a stop and the back doors were opened.

"All right, McArthur, out you go," the officer looking after her said, giving her a harsher than necessary tug on her arm.

"Can I at least say goodbye to Jervis?" she asked pleadingly.

"No. It's bad enough that he seems to have influenced you. You don't need to be giving him a kiss goodbye. Now move it!"

Jervis glared daggers at the officer, but said nothing. Alyce looked as though she was going to have an emotional breakdown, and all he wanted to do was comfort her. Hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He couldn't, though, and this only made him hope even more that she would be sentenced to Arkham. At least then, they had a very good chance of being able to see and touch one another again.

With tears brimming in her green eyes, Alyce looked intently at Jervis and said wholeheartedly, "I love you."

Although a little sad, Jervis held his head up high. He couldn't let her see him break down. He had to be strong for her.

Smiling, Jervis replied with equal sincerity, "I love you too, Alysyn. Good luck. We will see each other again soon. I promise."

With that, the guard jerked on Alyce's arm one last time, guided her out of the van, handed her over to a couple of waiting officers, and jumped back in. The doors slammed shut, the van came to life, and they were once again on the road – this time to Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

******

_**One month later…**_

"How are you feeling today?" Dr. Joan Leland asked. "Still feeling depressed?"

"You ask a lot of annoying questions," was the irritable response Alyce gave, not for the first time since being imprisoned. "And if you must know…I am and I'm not."

It was bad enough that her magic was bound, being imprisoned within her body and not being able to get free. Now, she herself was imprisoned. Alyce's trial had come three days after being put into a holding cell in downtown Gotham. A psychologist had come, as Jervis had said they would, to evaluate her mind. After a few hours of endless questions and answers, the psychologist had deemed her mentally unstable and suggested that her lawyer push to have her placed in Arkham Asylum. After all, she had aided the Mad Hatter, had killed a small handful of civilians, and did otherwise unethical things. She was now a full-fledged criminal – who apparently wasn't of completely sound mind.

Commissioner Gordon had spoken with Theresa and discovered that she was the one who helped incapacitate her. Alyce suspected that the Jabberwocky had something to do with this, because Gordon requested that Theresa be allowed visitation rights. This was probably just so she could recharge the binding spell that was placed upon her, as these kinds of things had to be redone every so often. Alyce was placed in a cellblock with other more dangerous criminals, so it wasn't all that bad. Jervis, after all, was only a few cells down the hall in the "men's section". Arkham was weird in that it didn't have designated women or men's wings. Everyone was placed together according to his or her danger level. Although the women were generally kept at one end, while the men were at the other in order to keep some sense of privacy.

Upon psychiatric evaluation, Alyce was diagnosed with Bipolar Personality Disorder with psychotic features*. After it was described to her, Alyce couldn't help but wonder just how long she'd had this "illness". Honestly, she didn't think there was anything wrong with her, but apparently, her long periods of anger and euphoria, followed by periods of depression was considered abnormal. Needless to say, the doctors prescribed her with Lamotrigine. If that didn't work, they said they'd try something else. Eventually, she would participate in group therapy sessions along with her regular sessions with Dr. Leland.

"I'm sorry, Alsysyn, but you know I have to ask," Leland stated after she was done jotting notes down.

"I still don't think I'm crazy," Alyce said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking like she wanted nothing more than to rip her so-called doctor's head off. "How long am I supposed to be here again?"

Dr. Joan Leland was nice, but Alyce could only take so much of the same kinds of questions before she'd had enough. As it was, she hadn't been granted recreation time yet because she had attempted to strangle a nurse who was trying to feed her what she liked to call "poison". Alyce hated the way the meds made her feel. She knew they weren't going to kill her, but she didn't like taking them. They made her feel dizzy, headaches were common, she had night sweats, and often a dry mouth. It sucked, frankly, and did nothing to allow her to meditate to try and lift the binding spell herself. She also wanted to meditate to try and figure out a few other things, but the side effects of the medication wouldn't let her. Knowing that her magic was there, but not being able to use it was taking an emotional toll on her.

"Your illness, as well as the trauma of your parents' deaths and the way you were treated by your peers, has given you a blatant disregard for society," Leland said. "It's not entirely your fault, though, and I'm here to try and help you. Answering your question…I've said before that you'll be here until you are well."

There was a pause where Alyce glared harder, and the doctor quickly changed the subject.

"I understand that you are some sort of Meta-human, which is why Miss Bonham was granted visitation rights. She can somehow keep your abilities at bay. If it weren't for her, you would be stuck in a special holding facility."

"That wouldn't do," Alyce said.

"Why is that?"

"Because then I wouldn't get to see Jervis," Alyce answered. "I suppose I should thank my mental illness, then, huh?"

Leland jotted something else down on her notepad, and then, "I know we've briefly discussed this before, but…what is your relationship with Mr. Tetch like?"

"Beautiful. He understands me, and I understand him. We're _in love_, Dr. Leland."

"And are you certain that he didn't manipulate you in any way?"

"Yes, I'm certain!" Alyce snapped. "Are we done yet? I'm really _not_ in the mood to talk to you today."

Leland sighed. "Very well. I'll see you again next week. In the meantime, you've been granted recreational periods with your fellow patients."

At this, Alyce perked up a little. So far, the only person she could see and hear, not just hear, was Harley-Quinn. The cell next to Quinn's was currently empty, and she was informed that it was usually Ivy's regular haunt. There was a woman that went by the name of Magpie in the cell next to her, but all that woman did was rave on about needing shiny things. She wasn't a good conversationalist.

"Will Jervis be there?" Alyce asked as Leland got up and tapped on the door to her office.

Leland glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow and answered, "Yes, though be warned that you two will be heavily watched."

"That's okay. At least I'll get to do something other than eat with him. Maybe play chess or something."

Leland gave a hint of a smile and the door opened, revealing the guard that was to take her back to her cell. Walking back to her confined room, Alyce couldn't help but shiver slightly – just slightly – at the various ramblings and looks other inmates gave as she passed by. While she was supposedly just as insane as them, it still freaked her out a little. Though she also had to smile. These people were just being themselves. Much like her, they had once been a part of normal society until one day they decided to say, "Screw it all". Unfortunately, these same people were caught by those who thought themselves above the rest, and ended up here.

'_We're __**all**__ mad...'_

After her cell door was opened, the handcuffs were removed and she was instructed, as usual, to step behind the yellow line and place her hands against the wall until the door was closed. Once the metal door with only a large Plexiglas window to peer out of was secure, Alyce was free to move about her ten foot by ten foot cell. She adjusted her orange, two-piece uniform, pulling the loosening pants up a little and pulling her shirt down so it wasn't scrunched up uncomfortably around her waist.

"Alyce?"

"Yes, Harley?"

Alyce stepped up to the window, which was roughly one foot by one foot, on her cell door and looked across the corridor towards Harley. The clown woman was quite different looking without the make-up and harlequin garb. Though she still looked perky.

"Don't worry. All those silly questions will pass. I had to go through it when I was first incarcerated. We _all_ did," Quinn comforted, giving Alyce a reassuring smile.

"Was my look of annoyance that plainly written upon my face?" Alyce queried with a small laugh.

"Yeah. Was Leland asking you the same questions again?"

"Heh, yeah. Honestly, I've already told her about my childhood, told her how I felt about the murder of my parents, and stressed that I worked with Jervis of my own accord. Can't she move on to new things to ask?"

Harley let out a giggle. "This was only your fourth session with her, Alyce. I'm sure she'll come up with something new eventually. When I was working here, it was protocol to repeat the same questions for the first four or five sessions to ensure that the patient is telling the truth as he or she knows it."

"Well, I'm about to just make something up to get her to move on," Alyce replied wryly. "I like the woman. She means well, but I just don't think I really belong here. I don't think any of us do, for that matter."

There was a long pause, and then Alyce said loudly so that Jervis could hear her from a few cells down, "Hey Jervis!"

"Yes, love?" came the loud response back.

"Guess what? I was granted recreation time with you!"

"Callooh! Callay! They're finally letting you come play!" Jervis cheered, making Alyce giggle girlishly. "How were you treated today, my dear? Well, I hope."

While she couldn't see him, Alyce could hear the underlying threat to anyone who would do her harm in his voice. After she'd attacked the nurse, Jervis had softly berated her for her mannerism, telling her that if she wasn't careful, she could be the brunt of many self-righteous guards' nightsticks and tazers. He was helping her through this, which she was thankful for. Of course, Harley was there as well. The Joker wasn't much help, as he found the whole situation funny. She was the newbie, after all, so he found her situation hilarious. The others, like Two-Face and Ventriloquist, just seemed to observe her more than anything.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Jervis," Alyce called. "Same kinds of questions again."

"How dreadful. We shall have a long talk in the common room later, my sweet," Jervis replied.

There was a pause, and then, "Alyce? I'm sorry for putting you through this."

Alyce sighed. He'd apologized to her a few times before, and each time she'd given him the same response.

"It's okay. As I've said, I should have listened to you in the first place. Though if I had killed Theresa, then my powers may have been stripped, rather than just bound. That wouldn't be good for either of us, love."

"Too true, my sweet, too true. Well, at least we're here together," Jervis replied.

"Will you two shut up! I'm trying to think!"

"Can it, Nygma! Let the lovebirds talk," Harvey Dent, a.k.a., Two-Face ordered.

"I'm sorry, but they've done nothing but talk about the same things every day since they've been here!" Nygma exclaimed.

"How would you know, Edward? You were only brought in just last week!" Jervis cried angrily.

"I need a shiny thing or I'm gonna kill someone!" Magpie yelled.

At this, Alyce looked through her window at Harley, who looked back at her, and the two just busted out laughing. The whole situation was rather funny, what with the boys' bickering, then Magpie's sudden outburst. Soon, she could hear the Joker's distinctive laugh echo from the far end of the hall, and then everyone joined in before a guard told them all to shut up. They just laughed harder.

'_My gods…they're like one big dysfunctional family,'_ Alyce thought with a grin. _'Perhaps I've found my home? A new family? Yes, I think I have…'_

With that, she walked over to her bed and lay down, closing her eyes. Recreation time was in a few hours, so she decided to try a small nap. She'd finally gone down the rabbit hole and was living a new life. This life, like her previous humdrum one where she was following the rules of society, had its hardships, but so far, it was by far better. Much better. While she was physically not free, her _spirit_ was free. That was something she had wanted to have happen for a very long time. Furthermore, she had found love that she was _meant_ to find in the process. Not lust, but real love where both she and Jervis wanted to please one another – to make each other happy.

This was the start of a new beginning, and Alysyn McArthur found that, despite the annoyances, she was enjoying every minute of it.

* * *

**NOTE:** Well, that's all, folks! For now, anyway. I _do_ plan on writing a sequel, which I will probably start within the next month, give or take a few weeks. The * in the second part of the chapter is for the Bipolar Disorder. If you guys don't know what all that disorder entails, please look it up. People can have psychotic symptoms with it, and Lamotrigine really is one of the medications to treat it. Also, forgive me for not doing a better psychiatry session between Alyce and Leland. This story/chapter isn't suppose to get into that. That will be touched on more in the sequel, and I hope to be able to pull it off well. I'm am by far no psychologist, so we'll see if I do a good job or not.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. I really enjoyed getting your comments and responding to them. I'll even thank those who have favorited my story, but left no comments. At least I know you like the story enough to favorite it, heh. Still, it would be nice to hear from you "invisible" folks. Until the sequel, I bid everyone a fond farewell. Take care, guys. =)


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